Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0 or any of the characters.
Hey everyone. Had thought I would like to write a little one shot based around the ALS ice bucket challenge but was coming up blank but then was struck with an idea based very very loosely on my own ice bucket challenge…a very large bucket and a sadistic father and brother!
"Daniel?"
"Steven?"
"Are you kidding me with this?" Steve said as he walked into his partner's office, holding up his phone.
"Hmm?" Danny answered, trying but failing to look innocently at his friend.
"The ALS ice bucket challenge. Really? Danny I'm a Navy SEAL…this is not going to be much of a challenge," Steve said with a tiny hint of distain in his voice.
"More of challenge would be to pay for lunch once in a while," Danny muttered looking away.
Steve glared at him, "What was that?"
Looking up again Danny replied, "Nothing. It's actually Grace who wanted to see you do it but had used up her three nominees so asked me would I challenge you. You don't want to disappoint Grace now, do you?"
Steve ground his teeth, he knew he was stuck. He wouldn't disappoint Grace, he knew it was for charity and after all, when did Lieutenant Commander Steven J. McGarrett ever back down from a challenge.
"Ok Danny, I'll do it but I'm not doing it in public. You and Grace come over to my place after work."
After coming back for HPD Kono and Chin strolled over, just catching the end of the conversation.
"Hey Boss, what are you not doing in public," Kono inquired.
Danny snorted at Steve being caught out and replied before the Commander could stop him, "Grace asked me to challenge him to the ice bucket challenge, so he's going to do it after work back at his place."
"Oh man, that sounds like fun. Can we join you?" Kono asked.
"Of course, the more the merrier," Danny answered, ignoring the death glare he was receiving across the desk.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Hours later, everything was set up. The big pliable plastic trough was filled with ice and water. Kono and Chin had positioned chairs at either side of where Steve was going to stand, so that they could maximise their height. Danny was going to record it on Steve's phone and Grace was all set up to take photos on her cell phone.
Steve walked out as the other three members of the task force split up into their designated positions. Steve had rang through an order for pizza but knew he had time to get this silliness over before it even arrived.
Dropping his towel over the back of a chair he walked over to his position. Giving Grace a wink he said, "Ok are we ready to get this show on the road?"
"Oh yeah!" Chin said.
"Ready Boss," came Kono's reply.
"Waiting for you, Steven," Danny said with a smirk, holding up his partner's phone.
"Ok. Here goes. Hi, I'm Steve McGarrett and welcome to my ALS ice bucket challenge. I'd like to thank my, ahem, friend Danny for the nomination, though I should be thanking his daughter Grace, as she was the one who really wanted to see me do this. Anyway, I would like to, in turn, nominate Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua and Max Bergman. Guys you have 24 hours…oh and don't forget to donate.
At hearing their names, the cousins both yelled "Hey", but took it all in good spirits. Lifting the trough high over Steve's head, they started pouring the ice and water very slowly over their colleague's head as Danny recorded it all on the phone. Grace was giggling as she watched the water pour all over her Uncle.
Danny smirked as the bad ass SEAL flinched as the water hit him. However in the blink of an eye everything changed. Steve took a few hitched breaths and without any more warning, his eyes rolled in his head and he crumbled to the ground.
Danny dropped the phone and was at his partner's side before he had fully hit the ground; the last of the water hitting Danny on the back.
"Steve! Steve! Steven! Come on man. This isn't funny. Wake up. Look at me!" Danny pleaded as he checked Steve pulse, finding it strong.
The bucket dropped and forgotten, Kono and Chin knelt down beside their boss. Grace joined them too, having grabbed the towel from the back of the chair. Folding it, she gently lifted up Steve's head and put it under him. She could not make sense of what had just happened and feared that she was somehow to blame for whatever was wrong with her Uncle.
A few minutes passed before Steve started to come around. He struggled to pull himself into the present. He could hear his friends worried pleas to wake up but he could also hear the shouts and screams of terror as some of his SEAL team were tortured on one of their many missions.
It had been FUBAR from the start, several of the team had managed to escape but he and three others had been captured and were being held in a compound at an unknown location. Their captors wanted to find out exactly what the SEAL team knew about their operations and were willing to anything to get the information.
Luckily the remainder of the SEALS were able to regroup and storm the compound and rescue their comrades but not before their "hosts" had had some "fun".
As the water from the ice bucket started running down Steve's face, he found himself back there. A cloth was placed over his face and he was water boarded for the umpteenth time. Try as he might, he could not shake the memory of not being able to take a breath as he heard his SEAL team cry out in pain. Eventually, as with that time, so long ago, he let the darkness drag him under.
Far away he could hear his name being called.
"Steve! Please Steve wake up. Come on, you're scaring Grace. Please let me see those blue eyes, babe," his partner begged.
Finally Steve obeyed, finding himself lying on the grass as his house, with a soft blanket wrapped around his shoulders, a small plant pot under his feet and four very worried faces looking expectantly at him.
"Hey buddy, welcome back. How you feeling?" Danny enquired.
"Cold," came the succinct reply.
Kono, who was kneeling behind, started rubbing her hands up and down his arms to try and heat him up.
Grace sobbed as she threw herself across the downed man's chest, wrapping her arms around him in an awkward hug saying, "I'm sorry Uncle Steve. I'm sorry I got Danno to nominate you."
Steve lifted one of his arms and wrapped it around the upset girl, "Hey kiddo, it's ok. You didn't do anything wrong. Please honey, stop crying."
Gradually Grace stopped and kneeling back up she looked into the man's face, "Are you sure it's ok?"
"I'm sure sweetheart, now help me up," Steve replied.
With the support of Danny and Chin, Steve made it to the front room, where he plonked down on the couch.
Kono excused herself calling Grace to follow, "Come on Grace, help me make a cup of tea for our fainting damsel." She wanted to know what happened too but felt that maybe Steve wouldn't be willing to share with Grace there, so decided to give the guys a few minutes. Grace giggled as she looked at Steve, giving him a quick hug, followed Kono to the kitchen.
Once Grace was gone, Danny sat down on the couch with his shoulder against his best friend, turned to him saying, "Ok, what the hell was that? I thought having a bucket of ice thrown on you would be a walk in the park. I mean do you not do some cold water conditioning every morning before breakfast? What just happened out there?"
Chin settled himself opposite his two team mates also wanting to know what was going on.
Steve cleared his throat, once, twice and then sighed, "I…I don't know…one minute I was standing here…and then the next I was…somewhere else. Look I can't go into details but I think the water running so slowly over me triggered something from a mission where I was…where I was water boarded for Intel."
Chin and Danny looked guiltily at each other. Before Steve had come out for the challenge, the team had decided to pour the water slowly, thinking it would be funnier but now they weren't so sure.
"Oh Steve, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should never have nominated you and then suggested to pour the water slowly," Danny said quietly laying an arm around Steve's shoulder.
"Yeah I'm sorry too, "Chin added.
"Hey this is nobody's fault. I agreed to the challenge. I mean it's for a good cause. How could any of us know it would trigger something," Steve said, trying to put his friend's minds at ease.
With that the doorbell rang. Chin, taking his wallet out went and answered it, paying the delivery man and taking the two pizza boxes in exchange. Danny remained on the couch with his arm still on Steve's shoulder. Kono and Grace came through from the kitchen with plates, napkins, tumblers, a jug of juice and Steve's hot sweet tea.
"Uncle Steve?" Grace said quietly.
"Yeah Gracie?" Steve replied looking at his best friend's daughter.
"Are you feeling ok now? I'm sorry that the water made you feel unwell," she said quietly with a hint of curiosity.
"I'm fine now again," Steve replied pulling Grace into a bear hug. "I think the cold water on my face just brought back a bad memory but I'm good now. I have my cup of tea, some tasty ham and pineapple pizza." Grace giggled and Danny groaned. "And I am surrounded by the best Ohana in the world. There is no challenge I can't face."
The group spent a happy few hours eating pizza, chatting and watching TV. Eventually Chin and Kono excused themselves as they noticed Grace and Steve had both fallen asleep. Locking the door behind them, Danny grabbed a blanket and covered up the two most important people in the world to him.
Remembering the cell phone that he had dropped hours earlier; he went out to retrieve it. Picking it up he found that there was no damaged and that he had in fact stopped the recording before dropping it to go to Steve's assistance. Watching the video, he once again saw the moment that Steve was back in that prison.
Danny pressed delete, he knew it wouldn't do any good to anyone if that video was ever seen. Walking back into the house with Steve's phone still in his hand he threw a look at his partner and daughter still snoozing on the couch.
Thumbing into message on the cell, he sent a text message. Within 10 seconds, the phone chimed and he grinned at the reply.
Thank you for your kind donation of $50 to ALS.
Laying the phone on the coffee table, he settled himself down at the opposite side of his best friend to Grace. He pulled the blanket a little over himself and promptly fell asleep.
The End