Never Say Uncle

Synopsis: When Danny Williams is arrested for the murder of Marco Reyes and extradited to South America, an old enemy sees an opportunity to deliver a debilitating blow to Five-0. With two of his friends detained and time running out, Steve does the only thing he can…he has himself thrown into the prison with Danny. But will he be in time to save his partner. DANNY!WHUMP and STEVE!ANGST. NO SLASH. Friendship only.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-O and am not getting any monetary gain for this story, just playing in CBS's sandbox for a while. These characters and storylines remain the property of CBS. No disrespect intended, just great characters that inspire their own stories.

Rated: T for violence and injuries.

Notes: Angst and Hurt/Comfort are kinda my thing, so if you've read anything else I've written you know this going to bad before it gets good. I'm taking some liberties with the episode "Pono Kaulike" to fit my vision of the story. Don't kill me for it, it was one of my favorite episodes in Season 5.

A/N: Please take a second and let me know if you're interested in this being continued.

Chapter One:

First Blood

Detective Danny Williams stared into the beveled mirror in his bathroom. The light green paint of the walls reflected the early morning light creating a soft haze that was quite pleasant. The water was still dripping from his wet blonde locks and the fluffy towel hugging his narrow hips was a reminder of his life. Happy. Danny was actually happy.

He was leaning against the long counter, his face very serious as he rehearsed his words. This was the first time that Grace had invited him to speak at her school and he wanted it to be perfect. He sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair as he considered the terrible fact that his little monkey was growing up.

His blue eyes were bright and his skin was still sporting the tan from his weekend at Diamond Point. He'd worked out a deal with the owner of a cottage up there and he'd managed to get Grace to agree to spend an entire weekend with him. They'd had so much fun. His heart swelled as he thought of his daughter. He would do anything to keep that look in her eyes; the one that said she thought her father could do anything. He, of course, knew the truth. Danny was vulnerable as a cop. The chance that something he'd done in the past would come back to rip away his happy little life was very likely. And there was nothing that he could do about that. He loved being a cop and the Jersey native couldn't imagine doing anything different.

The nightmares that haunted his dreams were vivid and numerous, particularly after the events of last year and the subsequent things set into motion after Mattie's death. His chest tightened at the thought of his baby brother. Danny hadn't really dealt with that yet. He'd shoved the pain so deep that he was able to smile…but he never forgot what had happened in Columbia. Beyond the loss of his brother, Danny's greatest shame had happened there. He'd lost control and crossed a line that he couldn't uncross. And it ate at him every single day.

His gaze dropped and the smile faded when his eyes landed on the long white scar marring his side. The worst year of his life had left him with little reminders all over his body. The surgery on his right arm to fix the broken bones had left him a two-inch scar along the inside of his wrist. He still suffered from the occasional migraine and the seven-inch long scar along his ribcage was a vivid reminder of his ordeal. A few things that had come out of those horrible experiences, he and Steve were better than they'd ever been. Their friendship was rock solid and their working relationship was written in stone. They were good. Danny had started taking more time with Grace. And he was trying to repair the damage done to his and Rachel's relationship.

They weren't trying to get back together or anything, but at least they were on speaking terms. He wanted to be a part of Charlie's life; even if he wasn't Danny's biological son. And then there was Gracie…he loved spending more time with her.

Although lately, her fascination with police work was causing him some sleepless nights and Danny was concerned where Grace would take it. He'd even been out on a few dates, but no one had really made him want to settle into a relationship. He'd moved into a house in a nice little neighborhood and he mowed the lawn on Sundays. All in all, he felt pretty good about his life.

Danny shook his head and grabbed his razor.

The drive to the school was blessedly quick that morning. One thing about this many people living on an island, traffic generally sucked. He'd been slightly disappointed to realize that Max was also going to be talking about his job. Part of the detective had been hoping that this was something he could share with Grace alone.

The conversation had gone pretty much as he'd expected. He talked about why he liked being a cop and the things that made him good at his job. Grace had been focused on him and it felt good. But then the class had derailed somewhat when her schoolmates started asking questions that should have disturbed Max, but instead, he found interesting.

Danny, however, found them disgusting. He'd glanced out at Grace and forced a wry smiled. She raised her hand. But her question left him worried. Of all the things he wished for his daughter, life as a public servant wasn't one of them. He wanted her to go to college and then become a doctor or something. Danny did not want his only child to be a cop.

"Danny Williams?" The unknown voice of the man stepping into the classroom caught the detective off guard.

"Yes." He hedged.

The U.S. Marshal quickly stepped into the room, followed by his partner. He pulled out a set of silver handcuffs and Danny's eyes widened.

"Turn around and place your hands behind your back."

"Uh okay...What's this all about?" The generally snarky cop asked steadily.

Danny's eyes flickered between the two men and he slowly turned and allowed his arms to be cuffed together behind him. "You're under arrest for murder."

Shock temporarily froze his tongue. So many scenarios raced through his head before he managed to piece together a coherent response.

"What? Whose murder?" His blue gaze flashed to Grace and his heart twisted at the anxious look on her young face. She was sitting ramrod straight in her chair and her eyes were begging for an explanation…he had nothing to give her in that moment.

He turned toward his daughter and did the best he could to console her. "I'm going to go downtown and we're going to get this straightened out. Don't worry, Grace. I'll be fine." His blank face shifted toward Max. "Call Steve." He breathed reflexively..

H50 H50

Steve laughed as he watched the kid that had once stolen his precious car catch the football like a pro. His laughter was cut short when the young man threw it back. Kid can't throw yet. He thought bemused. He'd spent the better part of his weekends hanging out with him and Steve had learned that he really liked being involved. He had no idea where this boy's life would have gone without his intervention. And the commander of Five-0 had learned that he could've been a good father…if that had ever happened. He explained the finer points of football.

The lesson was quick and effective; Steve showed him how to grasp the ball. "Always use the laces, that's why they're there." He couldn't help the smile when the kid threw him a very nice spiral in return. The ringing of his cellphone pulled his attention and he sighed before pulling it out of his pocket.

He glanced at the name and frowned. "Joe?" He questioned as threw the ball back.

"Steve, where's Danny?" Joe sounded tense. Although to be fair, his former CO sounded that way all the time lately.

Steve stood up caught the ball and then and tossed the football into the sand. "He's at Grace's school for career day. Why?"

"Get him out there. Now."

The old man was getting stranger and stranger the closer Steve watched him. "What are you talking about, Joe?"

Their conversation was interrupted by a second call. "Hang on, Joe." Steve clicked over to the second call. It wasn't normal for the medical examiner to call him. "Max, what's going on?"

"Steve. Danny's been arrested." The bottom dropped out of the seal's stomach and he shook his head in denial. He could not have heard that right.

"What?" He managed through his confusion.

There was a brief pause before the doctor continued. "Two U.S. Marshalls marched into Grace's class room and just arrested him. No explanation other than that it was for murder."

Steve's mouth dropped open and he ran his hand down his face. "Murder? Whose murder?" He growled out.

"I don't know. They didn't go into details. They just took detective Williams away."

The world seemed to spiral down at that point and he swallowed in frustration. Damn, it was going so well. Life had been good lately. He and Danny were better than ever and the team was functioning like a well oiled machine. He should have known that something would come along to pull the rug out from beneath them.

"Okay, thanks Max. I've got it from here." He clicked the phone closed and looked up. "I've gotta take off." He tossed the football back at the kid. "I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Sure."

H50 H50

Seven hours later...

Steve sat in his truck, his head leaning on the steering wheel. The wind was drifting through the opened windows and drying the sweat on the back of his neck. He was having a hard time dealing with this new blow to his team. Both Danny and Chin had been arrested, on different charges and by different agencies. But two people had hacked down his team and now he was left trying to piece together the reasons.

Apparently IA was holding Chin and Danny had been seized by the C.I.A. on account of killing Marco Reyes almost five months earlier. Why now? What had changed that the spooks of the U.S. government had decided to come after a small fish like Danny Williams? And what the hell was up with the extradition order? Since when did the United States hand people over to Columbia in response to any claim? The answers were giving Steve a headache.

He'd tried to get in to see Danny, but he'd been turned away by the Federal Holding Center in Honolulu. So now he had no idea where his partner was at, or what he was thinking. They hadn't really talked about the incident in Columbia. Neither of them had been in a frame of mind to talk about what Danny had done. It had caught Steve by surprise and he was sure that Danny had been just as shocked by his split second decision to put that bullet in Reyes's head.

Steve sat back and scrubbed his hand down his tired face. His eyes burned with weariness and he knew that he needed to get some sleep. That he wasn't any good to his team when he was dead on his feet. The images that would haunt his dreams wouldn't allow him to slip into the much-needed rest. So he inhaled and started his truck and drove toward the office.

H50 H50

The news couldn't have played into his scheme any better if he'd planned it himself. Having the Five-0 team split up by their supposed allies had been a stroke of genius, even he hadn't come up with it. The elite team would pay for their involvement in Kenny's death. And starting with the partner of Steven J. McGarrett seemed like a great place to dive in.

But having the New Jersey detective sent to a South American prison? Oh god was that good shit. He ground his teeth as he watched the agent walk detective Williams to the plane. Damn cop had no idea what he was in for. Sometimes being on the wrong side of the law had its perks. The connections he had with the Columbian cartels were about to pay off, big time.

One question remained, how did he get McGarrett to break? Because it was all well and good to get Danny, but it was the leader of Five-0 that he really wanted to destroy. The one thing he'd learned that horrible day in the warehouse was that if he hurt the detective, it hurt his partner. So yeah…he could start with the blonde. But he would end up its the ex-navy seal.

H50 H50

Scared didn't even begin to describe the emotions flowing through Danny as he stared out the small window. Hawaii was disappearing as the plane flew higher. His life was disappearing as they climbed into the atmosphere. The visible and somewhat alarming changes in his status was clearly evidenced by the silver cuffs on both his wrists. He'd barely had enough time to contemplate what he was giving up, but the minute the realization that Steve could easily be pulled into this mess, the choice had been easy.

The roar of the engine was like the low hum of electricity in overhead power lines; constantly there and difficult to ignore. The man next to him shifted and Danny flinched at the contact. He had no expectation of ever seeing his daughter again. He was vividly aware of what happened to cops in a normal prison. And Columbia was anything but normal. His gaze dropped to the sleeve of his blue shirt and he noticed a small tear in the fabric.

Funny, he'd picked this shirt because it was Gracie's favorite. He can't figure out where the tear came from and it triggered a series of thoughts that distracted him for a time. Normally when Danny flew he couldn't wait until they were back on the ground again. He hated being trapped inside anything and that includes airplanes. That was not the case this time. His eyes remained unfocused and he stared out the window at the diming light of the afternoon sun. Splashes of color lit up the sky in a canvas of gold and purple hues.

He knew that Steve would be angry. Hell, his partner wiould likely be livid over Danny's decision to accept the blame. He'd already yelled at Danny in the detention center when the agent was moving him. He wanted to argue with Steve. To try and explain why he was doing this, but Danny didn't have a clear understanding of his reasons himself.

The detective blamed himself for killing Reyes. He didn't regret the death of the drug lord, but he did regret not having allowed the law to do it. The C.I.A. man hadn't been wrong he'd said that Danny had taken the law into his own hands and that he, of all people, should have known better.

"You're going to love your new digs." The Marshall next to him said with a wry smile.

"You know I won't last long." Danny's answer was subdued and missed his usually spirited tone. Acceptance was already settling in.

The man shook his head, letting his eyes drop to Danny's cuffed wrists. "Those too tight? I can loosen them?"

Danny appreciated the offer, but shook his head. "They're fine." He now knew that there was no way out for him. He needed to deal with the ramifications of the choice he'd made in that basement. The things he'd done and seen weren't some elaborately written television show, there were consequences. He knew that he'd made that choice in his lowest moment, but as he reflected on his life, Danny knew that he would have done that same thing, or worse, for Grace, Steve, or any member of Five-0.

Knowing this wasn't new. It wasn't unexpected, but it was frightening in its' reality. He doid't know how he'd managed to miss the entire flight, but he could feel the plane start its descent into Columbia and his stomach flipped in fear of what was to come.

The drive was short and Danny's immediately handed over to the prison guards at the jail. They're a ragged group of people and he knew that his day was just beginning. He'd seen prisoners being 'in-processed' before, but he'd never been on the receiving end and it didn't sit well.

He was stripped and searched. His precious few belongings disappear behind a chain link door and Danny was sure he would never see those credit cards again. It was embarrassing to be bodily searched for…what? He had nothing of value, not anymore; everything, including his dignity, had been taken from him. Danny reached up and drags a hand down his face; his eyes burn with weariness.

His clothes were returned to him and he was jockeyed through the halls of the prison. The growing din of voices sent waves of concern coursing through him and he nearly swayed under the weight of his current situation. Cups flew through the air and landed at his feet as he was shoved toward the main yard.

Palms slammed into his back and Danny felt his body propelled into the yard with the angry inmates. It took less than a minute before he felt the first blow strike hard and fast. His breath whooshed out of him with the strength of that single blow and he was nearly driven to his knees when several more fists join the fray. The guards watched it all. It lasted for a few minutes before the bastards finally stepped in. Pain lanced through Danny and he knew that this was what he had to look forward to. At least for a while. It wouldn't take too long before one them managed to slip a shank between his ribs and ended the sentence. He swallowed the pain, knowing that if he voiced how much it hurt, he'd be admitting weakness and that wouldn't get him anywhere.

One of the guards leaned over him, the butt of his rifle poised above Danny's face. He smiled sadistically and then drove the hard wooden end down into the detective's unprotected cheek. Pain blossomed and the skin split like an over ripe banana. The wash of warm blood warned Danny that they'd drawn first blood and he had no reason to believe that he would be saved from a second blow. He'd been taking beatings most of his life, but this was the only one he felt that he might actually deserve. His body started to shiver and Danny wondered if he was having a reaction to the pain or if the temperature had suddenly dropped. He managed to look up at the guard that had slammed him with the rifle. The guy grinned down at him…his face was swimming in fuzzy edges, but Danny could see there was no remorse.

"Ain't noone coming to save your ass, detective." He leaned closer and pressed the rifle cruelly against Danny's damaged cheek.

Danny hissed in pain and curled in on himself in an effort to protect his vital organs. The guy reached down and pulled at his shoulder until Danny had no choice but to try and look up at him. He didn't blink, even though the blood was now running freely along his face, dripping into the dusty ground beneath the detective.

"The Reyes family says hello." With that remark, Danny's insides froze and his mind started to race through possibilities, gravitating toward the ones that ended with him dead. Another wave of pain washed through him as the guard drove the rifle down one more time. Danny was truly alone for the first time in his life; he had no one to count on. No one that could save him from his own destructive choices and what was worse…he wasn't sure he deserved to be saved.

TBC…

Author's Note: Who is the mysterious man determined to destroy Five-0? How will Steve manage to save Danny? Tip, it won't involve finding a stash of drugs and getting Danny sent back to Hawaii. Was the CIA only after Danny? What if they decided to go after Steve too, just later…new chapters every other day.

Please Review: If you'd like to see this one continued, please let me know.