I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: Sorry - "Squirrel"! I know I have a multi-chapter in progress but there was a major distraction which required purging. This is probably drivel and some might not agree with me (or the spontaneous purge of the muse) ... but I was trying to find some saving grace in learning Charlie was Danny's son all along. I thought that Steve might want to remind him that some things weren't all that bad despite the current circumstances. PS - I DO like Rachel. I'm just baffled by the plot line and my feelings are quite confused.

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

"The best lies are based on the
truth, at least in part"
Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

He didn't know what to say or think when Danny told him about Charlie. Rachel had lied about the child not being Danny's son. She'd lied for three years; longer, if you counted the few months when she'd been pregnant. It wasn't fair and it certainly wasn't right no matter the reason. And what Rachel Edwards had the gall to toss her ex-husband's way was not a valid reason, but a ridiculous excuse.

From where he sat behind his desk, Steve watched Danny through two nearly sound-proof barriers of glass windows. His friend was trying to focus on case work and his desk was piled high with files and papers. He was attempting to peck at arbitrary keys on his computer, but his eyes told the true story. Danny might physically be sitting in his office, but he was miles away and in a barely controlled fury.

Fury was new to Steve even though he'd personally borne witness to almost every emotion. Steve had first celebrated Danny's exuberance. The unbridled enthusiasm had been a side which Steve had enjoyed seeing when Danny thought that he and Rachel weren't only going to reconcile, but would do so through a blessed event. The moment was bittersweet though, too, since Steve thought he might very well lose the best partner he ever had. At the time, there had never been a doubt that Danny would have readily chosen one o'hana over another and a possible return to New Jersey had been bandied about.

He and Danny hadn't discussed that part of the scenario for any number of reasons. Each knew they'd have to cross that bridge at some point. But until that discussion became absolutely necessary, Danny had stayed above and beyond cloud nine, focusing only on reuniting with Rachel ... and the prospects of a new child.

Then it had begun. The initial lie which made his best friend crash to earth into small, fragmented pieces when Rachel had informed him of "her minor mistake" in timing. Enthusiasm had assimilated into misery within a split second. There hadn't been anger though, only a bone-deep, energy sapping sadness.

But that particular crash had still been bad. The sadness and despair had lingered long and hard, yet Danny had managed to weather the storm in style. Looking back now, Steve felt his own ire growing. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd had a hand in spurring on some weird retribution which Rachel had fostered inside because Danny had missed their flight back to the mainland. He'd missed that flight to help him. But Steve couldn't be certain that one instance might have caused such angry feelings of vengeance in the woman for her to create such an elaborate front.

Steve closed his eyes and shook his head against other dismal memories. One in particular where he'd listened to a recorded voicemail in which Danny had pleaded with Rachel for another chance at happiness. He'd done that even when he'd still believed Charlie wasn't his child at all because he had faith in their future together.

Faith and trust. When Danny Williams fell ... he fell hard and true. He dug in with all his tenacious might and with his heart worn on his sleeve for all the world to see. He got knocked down and beaten up, but he always adapted and struggled on.

Perhaps Grace's abduction by Rick Peterson had sealed the woman's own steadfast determination to keep her children safe from her ex-husband's profession. The terrible events from that day seemed to prove her misguided beliefs about Danny's line of work and fueled her intentions to not reveal the entire truth regarding Charlie's parentage. It was possible. None of it seemed logical though and, as far as Steve remained concerned, her reason was invalid and merely a ridiculous excuse.

No, what Rachel had done hadn't been fair and it wasn't fair now. She'd only come forward to tell the truth because Charlie was deathly ill and his real father, now the toddler's only chance for survival. His real father who was not Stan Edwards but Danny Williams.

Steve's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he watched Danny viciously rub his eyes and then tiredly hide his face in both hands. He'd gotten his son just as he'd wanted all along, but the way it had happened was decidedly all wrong. Growling under his breath against the woman who had torn his partner's heart in half time and again, only to trample it into the dust, Steve shoved away from his desk.

"Danny," Steve said, the scowl he'd acquired firmly in place no matter what he tried to do to calm himself. He wasn't surprised when there was no acknowledgement to his entrance. Nothing, not even a peek at him from between the splayed fingers which covered Danny's face. "Take the rest of the day off and clear your head."

"I can't believe she did this, Steven. Was I really married to this woman at one time?" Danny replied through his hands. His head was bowed over his desk, directly over the files and scattered pieces of paper. As Danny purged with a sudden venom, Steve was positive that not one single word had been read. The articles were props, nothing more.

"She lied to me and to Stan. I gained a son and Stan lost one ... I don't even know what to think of that. What would I feel like if I were Stan Edwards after all this time? It's so much worse for Stan than it is for me ... so horribly worse. Not to mention Grace? She's more than old enough to understand what her mother did. She's a smart kid, Steve, and she gets all of this, too."

"I know ... I know, and that's why I think you should take a few hours off," Steve agreed, his own annoyance leaking through no matter how hard he tried to control it. That not so simple sentence about Danny being unable to understand what Rachel had done was the only thing he'd had been able to say for days now. That, and bemoan the fact that he still might never know about his son if the poor child hadn't become so desperately ill.

"I was thinking about something," Steve suddenly blurted, his demeanor changing entirely as he walked into Danny's office and closed the door. There was no preamble, just a blatant truth that he felt the need to remind his partner.

"I know this whole situation stinks on so many levels," Steve said. "But Danny, you got to see him born ... you were there in the hospital the entire time. Regardless of what you believed then, for whatever reason, you still got some of the best parts in all of this."

With an aggrieved sigh, Danny leaned back in his chair to listen. His eyes were red-rimmed and his face drawn. He looked like he hadn't slept in as many days for the stress piled upon his shoulders.

"That damned picture you took of him in the bassinet ... in the nursery," Steve began, a soft humorous snort finally putting an end to the original scowl he'd carried across the office. "You said you took it for Stan because a father should see his son. I was in awe of you that day, buddy. It was such an incredible self-less and generous thing to do. But now, I think you really took it for yourself ... and I'd bet my life that you still have that image saved somewhere. Don't you?"

"What are you trying to say, Steven?" Danny griped wearily. "Are you trying to make me feel better? Because it's not really working." His hand waved through the air before falling limply into his lap. He didn't know what to say and didn't need to answer Steve about the old picture because he certainly had kept it. He had dutifully emailed it to Stan and then saved it to his personal files without a valid reason. On one side - call it an emotional surge of serendipity - he had saved the picture. On another, he had to admit privately fantasizing about the baby being his and he'd been wholly unable to hit the delete key. In fact, he'd found too many occasions to simply stare at it and ... wonder.

Now, he stared at it and wondered how he could ever have believed her; he was dumbfounded as to how he could ever have been so insanely gullible.

Still, Danny tried to downplay what Steve had just said, his face and tone of voice continuing to mirror his misery. "So what ... it wouldn't have meant a thing if Charlie didn't get sick. And I don't want him to be sick ... I didn't want things to work out like this ...not like this. She lied for three long years and would have kept it up forever if she could have. Worse yet ... I still really don't know why."

Steve shrugged helplessly because all of that was definitely true. The reason which Rachel had weakly verbalized, was indeed quite poor. But the bigger thing was Charlie's birth. That event was huge and Danny had practically wanted to hand out cigars regardless of what he'd believed at the time.

"Danno, I know three years is a helluva long time and her reasons are ... just ... not entirely ... well ... sound. But think about it, you were there for your son's birth," Steve repeated, no small amount of awe beginning to warm his voice. He had to smile in the end and he meant every single word which he found himself saying afterwards.

"You were there front and center from start to finish for the biggest event in his life - hell, for any parent. I know at the time it tore you apart to be there, but think about it now and put some new purpose around it. Call it a miracle or Karma; maybe Rachel did it on purpose! I have no idea! But I guess what I'm saying is that some of this isn't so bad. I know you missed a lot in three years, but you were there to see Charlie born ... you were there, buddy, and that my friend, is huge and no one can take that away from you."

"You're right," Danny whispered after a long thoughtful pause. He chuffed a pleased sound as a tiny smile dared to brighten his eyes. In that moment he forgot about his ex-wife and her ridiculous excuses. He had a gorgeous tow-headed, blue-eyed son and Steve was right: contrived or not, he'd been there from the very beginning.

He had forged an early bond and he'd protect his son at any cost from that very moment, as well as far into the future. Nothing would change that. Ever.

"I have a little boy, Steve," Danny gushed softly, a genuine smile finally breaking loose.

"Yes, you do," Steve said with purpose as his friend's entire demeanor altered. "You really do, Danno." Arms folded sternly across his chest, he too was now grinning happily from ear to ear. That initial feeling of warmth and exuberance had found a chance to return ... and it felt ... good.

~ END ~