Thank you

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

The characters of Adam 'Toast' Charles, Steve McGarrett, Meka Hanamoa and Kono Kalakaua do not belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.

This particular version of Danni Williams however does belong to me. Danni, while originally based on the concept of male Danny and sharing the name, has evolved into her own character with her own backstory as people who have read the story would know

Please don't use her without permission.

Author Note

Welcome to Part Four of the main Saga

Please be aware that this should be read after 'The Beginning', 'Family' and 'Looking up'.

I know that having Toast on the team as a member is risky, some people like the idea while others don't but I personally like the thought of him being on it because of what he can bring to the team. He can add a new element to them and a new way of thinking. Toast is the only member of the team with no officially training. He's a computer genius hacker who views things completely differently from the rest of them which can only be a good thing.

I wanted to explore Toast's reaction to Toast's job offer as well as explore his past when it comes to Danni and show how they met and how the bond between them came about. I think it's important to under that to be able to understand why Toast said yes and was willing to turn his life around in such a dramatic fashion.

There will be a lot of one-shots written in this saga, the majority of them being written about character who are not Steve or Danni. I like the thought of exploring these other characters and getting a better understanding of them.

Anyway, please enjoy.

Overall Summary

Toast might have strayed from the path he had once been on but now that he's been given the chance to redeem himself by Steve and Danni, he's not going to waste it. He would make sure he didn't let them down and he'll make sure that they knew how much it meant to him.

Official Romances

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)

Saturday 2nd October 2010

North Shore Beach

Waimea Bay

Oahu

Hawaii

Adam Charles, more commonly known among the circle of people who knew him, as Toast, moved awkwardly on the spot, the sand hot beneath his bare feet as he tried to blend in with the rest of the people surrounding him. He knew it was stupid coming here now but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to wait until Monday to do this. He needed to get it out of his system now.

He breathed out, running his hand through his dark hair before he lowered it back to his side, swallowing hard and trying to ignore the way his body was shaking slightly as though he found the warm breeze chilly. He knew that they were just withdrawal symptom beginning, he had been expecting them since he hadn't smoked anything since the evening before when Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, the head of the Governor's new taskforce had sat him down in his office and offered him a job on the team as their Computer and Intel Specialist only he hadn't quite offered it to him without any strings attached.

There had been terms to his employment with them, firstly he was informed that he would be given a month's trial to see how he fitted in on the team and whether the work he produced was up to a certain standard. That wasn't a surprise since the Commander had made it perfectly clear that the only reason, he was being offered the job in the first place was due to Steve's partner Danni Williams request and influence. The second term was that he was to attend rehab and get his act cleared up, if he messed up on that aspect or failed to go to a meeting then we would be off the team instantly, regardless of whether he was on probation or not, he would just be gone. If he agreed to those two terms then the job was his.

He hadn't even had to think about the offer before he had said yes.

He was finally being given a chance to rebuild his life, to have a second chance so he could redeem himself and make up for all the stupid things he had done in the past and all of it was because Danni saw something in him that she was willing to take a chance on and she in turn had convinced Steve to take a chance on since Toast had absolutely no doubts in his mind that it was Danni who had convinced her partner to hire him. He already had the impression from watching the two of them together that Steve was willing to do things or accept things which he normally wouldn't have if it meant keeping his new partner happy.

Toast unscrewed the top of his bottle of Lucozade and brought it to his mouth, taking a long swig of it to calm himself. He was due to go to his first rehab meeting in two hours' time and he was already feeling surprisingly nervous about it. He knew that he wasn't into the hardcore drugs which some of his friends were on but what he did was still addictive enough. The last thing he wanted to though was to screw up this opportunity in any way because he severely doubted that he would get another one like it any time soon, if ever.

Toast smiled slightly to himself as he lowered the bottle, screwing the top back on as his mind drifted back to the first time, he had met Detective Danni Williams of HPD.

She and her partner at the time, Meka Hanamoa, had knocked on the door of the shitty apartment he had been staying at around that time and it had taken just a single glance at the badges they showed him when he opened the door for him to turn and do a runner out of the window behind him. He couldn't explain why he had done it, knowing even as he did that it would have been better for him to have simply gone with them but his fight or flight instinct had kicked into overdrive and taken over, leading to him climbing over rotting fences and trying to make a break for the main road, hoping to lose them in the crowd of tourists if he managed it.

He had heard a feminine shout from behind him clearly giving orders but he had ignored it, caught up in his own attempted escape. He had been about to disappeared into the crowded market place when a slight weight had barrelled straight into him with enough force that he had stumbled and crashed through a wooden table to the rocky floor, lying there in a dazed heap. Before there had been any chance to regain his bearings, his arms had been caught and wrenched behind his back and the unfamiliar feeling of metal had been pressed hard against his wrists. He had laid there blinking in pain, a feeling of shock going through his as an unfamiliar feminine voice spoke from behind him.

"Adam Charles you have the right to remain silent, anything you do say can and will be used against you in a court of law…"

He had stopped listening after that, having watched enough cop shows on TV to know that he was being arrested and being read his Miranda rights. He blinked again when a second pair of hands, much larger than the pair which had cuffed him, hauled him to his feet.

"Seem like you had no difficulty catching him Danni, I guess you weren't joking earlier when you said that you could run in those heels, remind me not to piss you off enough to chase after me in them." The man holding Toast by the elbow stated, sounding partly amused and partly impressed in equal measure.

"You know if you're impressed by that Meka then you should see just how fast I can run when I'm in flats, you won't know what hit you." The woman the man had called Danni stated, an undercurrent of amusement and satisfaction to her voice.

Toast has looked up finally at them and found himself confronted with two individuals dressed in their own clothing and as different to each other as could be. The male was tall though shorter than Toast was. He was built as though he regularly worked out with short black hair that had a wave to it and watchful dark eyes which stared at Toast as though he was daring him to try something, he was definitely of Asian origins, perhaps Chinese by the look of him though Toast wasn't sure, especially as his accent had been pure American. He was dressed in a pair of black trousers and a white shirt with small pineapples on it though Toast's attention had been fixed more on the gun and badge on his belt then his dress sense.

The other Detective had been a surprise to him, small and slim she had been wearing a navy blue short sleeved dress that had strokes of bright colours over it and a strip of green at the bottom of the dress which fell just past her knees to her calves and which she had teamed with a pair of heeled navy blue ankle boots. Long blond hair had been tied away from her pale face while grey eyes flickered between Toast and the surrounding area as though she was watching for anyone who might have been paying attention to them. If it hadn't of been for the Detective shield, she wore around her neck on a chain then he would never have known that she was part of law enforcement or that she was quick enough to run him down.

"Let's take him back to the station before we attract too much attention" Danni had remarked, nodding at Meka shooting Toast a long, thoughtful look before she turned and walked back towards his building, on course towards the brand new looking silver Camaro which he noticed was parked outside. Meka had thrown him into the back of the vehicle, one hand resting on the car door as he looked down at Toast and spoke.

"If you try anything and I mean anything at all then you'll regret it" He stated, his tone casual as though he was just giving Toast directions or suggesting a place where he should eat. He shot Toast a smile which reminded him of a shark before stepping back and closing the door.

The ride back had been quiet, the only sound breaking it was the conversation between Danni and Meka which sounded as though Meka was giving her directions on how to get back to the precinct from where they were making Toast wonder whether she had been on the island long or whether she was new.

It hadn't taken them long to reach their destination from where they were or for Toast to be passed over to some uniformed police officers who Meka had instructed to book him and place in an interview room before he had turned and followed Danni through a door since she hadn't bothered to even stop. The booking hadn't taken long and soon Toast found himself in a room by himself, it was cold and dim making him shiver and long to be back outside just so he could feel the sun against his skin warming him back up.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when the only door to the room opened and Danni and Meka had walked back in, taking the two seats opposite to where he was sitting. Meka leaned back in his, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Toast with a vaguely curious expression while Danni had simply ignored him, her attention fixed on the file which she had brought in with her and was now reading. Toast shifted in his seat trying to gain sight of it but it was impossible from the angle he was at.

The silence continued for a second before Danni closed the file with a sigh and placed it on the table, interlocking her fingers together and resting them on tip of it as she looked up at him.

"I'm Detective Williams and this is my partner Detective Hanamoa" She explained to him, "You are Adam Charles best known as Toast, is that correct?" She asked him, reaching up with her hand and tucking a stray cool behind her ear, clearly waiting for him to answer.

"I tend to only go by Toast, that's what my friends call me, only my parents call me Adam, even my siblings tend to use Toast unless they want to really annoy me." He found himself explaining to her. She nodded, a slight smile coming to her face though her eyes had remained cool and watchful.

"So, Adam could you tell us where you were two nights ago between the hours of eight and nine PM?" She asked him pleasantly, the question causing him to freeze on the spot, his eyes widening as he realised with a sinking feeling that they already knew where he had been between that time frame. It was obvious even to him.

"I'm erm… I'm not sure exactly" He said cautiously.

"You're not sure where you were" Meka has repeated, one eyebrow rising as he continued to speak. "Can you remember anything about that evening?"

"No" Toast responded, his hand curling into a fist on his thigh, he ran a hand through his hair suddenly feeling sick as he watched them exchange a look with each other.

"See, I don't think that is quite true Adam." Danni had said softly to him, taking something out from the file and placing it on the surface of the metal table, she spun it around so it was face him and gave it a slight push towards him so he could see it clearly. "This was taken from a CCTV camera two nights ago at eight twenty in the evening and that" she said, tapping a slim finger against the person in the picture. "Is you, we also have your face on the ATM camera right at the time when it was robbed."

Toast swallowed, his eyes flickering between them, there was no sign of mercy on Meka's face but there was something which looked almost like pity in the grey eyes facing him.

"I want my…"

"Before you finish that sentence and ask for a Lawyer let me interrupt you to explain some things." Danni said as she leaned forwards towards him. "I know you aren't the mastermind behind this whole operation. My guess is that you got in with the wrong crowd when you were younger and you're still paying for that choice now. You have a clean record discounting this and the people who we have spoken to about you have all said that you're a good man who is in over his head and after meeting you, I'm inclined to believe them. According to your file you were accepted into MIT which means that you have brains but you also have a problem with drugs which leaves you open to things like this happening to you. What exactly did the group you worked with offer you in return for helping them? Drugs? Enough money to buy the drugs?" She questioned him, tilting her head to one side as though she had been genuinely interested in his response.

"Drugs" He answered her quietly after a brief moment of hesitation.

"See I don't believe that you knew what was going to go down on that night or what they were going to make you do. I've watched the footage from the camera and I saw the look on your face. You were scared once you realised what was happening and why you were there. Of course, you did run from us today as soon as you saw our badges which doesn't work well in your favour but…"

"We would be willing to overlook that incident if you were to work with us now and give us the names of the rest of the crew who you worked with that night. You'll still be charged and have a trial in front of a judge and hurry but…" Meka remarked, taking over from Danni before his own voice trailed off.

"If you help us then I shall speak to the judge and the DA myself on your behalf and I will let them know that you have willingly cooperated with us and provided us with crucial help which should go a long way in gaining a more lenient sentence." Danni pointed out.

"The main thing to remember Adam is that these people don't care squat about you. You were merely a means to an end and all of them would be more than happy to watch you take the fall for them while they go scot free for the time being." Meka remarked, leaning forward in his chair as well.

"You owe them nothing Adam" Danni said firmly. "You certainly don't owe them your loyalty. So, will you help us?" She asked "Because this deal we're offering you is a one-time deal only, if you don't want to tell us then I will call your Lawyer and ensure he or she comes down here and your can take your chances like everyone else because we will catch this crew with or without your help. It's just in your benefit that we catch them with your help."

Toast had looked at them both, his eyes flickering between them as he worked out the pros and cons of helping them in his head before he sighed, opened his mouth and had sang like a canary for them, giving them all the information they wanted and held on to the belief that Danni would keep her promise to him.

He had been kept in lock down for a couple of days which had been two of the worse days of his life before he was released on bail which his parents had paid for him. He had attended the court hearing and had been charged on a lesser sentence which had meant that he had escaped the prison time he had been sure he would receive and instead had been released on probation and told to do community service.

Meka had caught hold of him after the verdict had come in and told him that he had Danni to thank for the lesser sentence, telling him that she had kept her word to him like she said she would and had made sure that both the Judge and the DA knew that he had helped them. He had gone on to warn him to stay out of trouble and to learn to say no since the next time he ended up in lock up he may not end up with such understanding Detectives.

Toast had taken Meka's words and warning to heart and had kept himself out of trouble by keeping himself to himself, immersing himself in his computer programming business which he did on the side and spent the majority of his days in a drug induced state of relaxation.

He had thought about Danni often and how she had given him a chance that day, she hadn't abandoned him either, always checking in on him to make sure that he was staying on the straight and narrow path.

When she had turned up with her new partner Steve McGarrett in tow asking him for his help it had been a no brainer for him. Toast would always do anything in his power to help her. He just hadn't expected Danni to go out of her way to help him again by getting him this job on the team. A job which might actually challenge him again.

"Toast? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

Toast blinked, bringing his attention away from his thoughts of the past and looked up, surprised to see Danni standing in front of him with a concerned look on her face.

"Danni" He said, clearly his throat awkwardly as he took a step towards her. "I'm sorry to bother you when you're busy" He commented, waving his free hand towards the large group of people who Danni was with, he had remembered Danni saying yesterday in passing that she would be here for Meka's BBQ.

"That's fine" She said with a tilt of her head. "Why are you here though? Are you okay?" She asked, repeating her earlier questions. He nodded in response.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's nothing bad, I'm not in trouble or anything I just wanted to thank you in person for what you've done for me. The Commander called me into his office yesterday before Kono's graduation and offered me a job on your team. He said that I had you to thank for it." Danni stared at him for a moment before a wide smile came to her face.

"Did he now?" She murmured with a shake of her head before she looked back at Toast. "Did you accept his offer?" She queried, a curious tone to her voice.

"Yeah I did" Toast said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "It's only a month trial at the moment but if I do a good enough job then the Commander will hire me on a full-time basis as one of the team."

"That sounds like a fair offer" Danni said after a moment. "It's Steve who you should be thanking Toast since he was the one who offered you the job, he…" Toast shook his head, interrupting her before she could say anything further.

"No Blondie, he made it perfectly clear to me that the job offer was all done to you and that the reason he was hiring me was because of you and no other reason."

Danni stared at him for a moment, looking surprised by his comment before she shook her head.

"Well I for one am glad you're joining us Toast, maybe this job is what you need, you know to keep you focused and everything." She said, causing him to smile at her as she tried to delicately not mention his drug habit.

"It's cool Blondie, the Commander has told me that I need to start in rehab straight away, if I miss a session or I fuck up in some way then he'll fire me on the spot. I'm not going to waste this chance, not this time. It might be my last one." He said, running his hand through his hair again. "But like I said earlier I just wanted to thank you in person and let you know that I am not going to let you down. This is the second time that you've stuck your neck out for me and I don't know why you do it but I am so freaking grateful nonetheless. I'm not going to screw up and I'm not going to let you down." He stated, repeating his oath, trying to drum the point home to her and to himself.

"The only person you don't have to let down is yourself Toast, no one else." She told him firmly. "You have a talent so now it's time to start using it and giving back." She looked over her shoulder when someone call out her name from the group, holding up a volley ball and waving her over. "I've got to go, it looks like someone has volunteered me for a volleyball game" She said happily before looking back at him. "Do you want to join us? We could always use another person and you already know Meka and Kono is actually here as well, she's on the taskforce so it might be a good chance for you to get to know her and some CSU Agents who you'll be working with before you officially start?" She suggested.

"I would any other time Blondie but I've got my first rehab meeting shortly and I can't miss it, the Commander pulled some strings to get me admitted into the group so…" His voice trailed off as he shrugged. "Can I take a rain check?" He asked hopefully, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly when she nodded at him with a smile.

"I'll make sure you have an invite the next time Meka throws a BBQ" She promised him before her expression turned serious. "Good luck at the meeting Toast and I guess I shall see you first thing on Monday morning. If you need to talk to someone or things are getting difficult to cope with then you have my number. You can call me and I'll help anyway I can okay? We're both on the same team now."

"Yeah we are, thank you Danni" Toast answered with a smile, lifting up his hand and returning Danni's wave as she turned and ran lightly back to the group.

Toast nodded once to himself, feeling lighter than he had done in ages before he turned and began walking toward the car park where he had parked his scooter.

This was his one chance to turn his life around and he wasn't going to mess it up.

He'd make sure of it.

Author Note

Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it.

I really appreciate it