Title: Echoes of a Broken Heart
Author: uchihasasukekun07
Rating: M
Warning: Strong language from the very start and possible future subject matter.
Notes: First Hawaii Five-0 fanfic, so nervously dipping my toes into the sandbox. Not beta-ed so any grammar/spelling mistakes are my own and I apologize.
Disclaimer: I do not own or am associated with Hawaii Five-0 or any if its characters.
Summary: Beneath his tough Jersey exterior Danny is a lonely man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. His brother is wanted by the feds, his ex-wife is constantly trying to take his daughter away from him and as the dust kicks up an old chip on the shoulder it is Steve that is left holding the police manual like a deer caught in headlights as Danny attempts to go Rambo on him.
Echoes of a Broken Heart
Chapter 1
"Mother-fucking asshole!" the woman snarled.
Monday mornings, the joys of. Nobody really and truly likes them. It is start of a brand new working week, the furthest possible time from Friday evening and the weekend beginning. People are tired, grumpy, possibly hungover and been stuck in morning rush hour traffic does not help one's mood. For Steve he was having a particularly bad one. He was all of the above but the hangover was not a possible it was a most definite. Catherine was home for the weekend. Enough said, he had dropped her off at the dock and now he was running late for work. Danny had already rang him to scold him, to make matters worse Steve was stuck behind an erratic driver, one whom had the audacity to over take him and then impede him. Steve was well aware he was not a officer of HPD. His intention was simple, flash the badge and scold the driver, thus making them aware of the traffic violation and everyone would be on their way, safer.
No, just no. He flashed his blue lights and pulled the driver over. Emerging from his jeep he sussed that the driver was female and he may have puffed out his chest to appear more domineering. He had seen Danny doing this scores of times. He flashed his badge, introduced himself and started on his Danny spiel. Steve frowned as he was cut short by his female driver. She had demanded to see his badge again, he showed he again while beginning to reprimand her for her driving when she again cut him short.
"Imitating a police officer! You do realize that is a felon?"
"Read the badge ma'am, Five-0."
"I can read thank you very much and that is my problem, Five-0 is not HPD. From what I read it is a separate entity, a detective unit."
"Yes, a unit of HPD made up of HPD officers-"
"Are you a HPD officer?"
"-I am the head of the-"
"That does not answer my question sir. You pull up in an unmarked car, with lights that anyone can install, flash a badge and mis-cite traffic protocol."
"I-excuse me?"
"Your manner, posture and execution are all wrong. I'm ringing 911 and a real officer can deal with this." the woman said already on the phone.
"Hey wait! I am a law man! I-"
"Sure Dredd, hi I would like to report a felon. I have a man here pretending he is a member of HPD."
Steve looked at the woman shocked. He was digging a hole for himself and Danny and Chin were sure going to get some milage out of this.
Steve rubbed his head in frustration.
"Mother-fucking asshole!" the woman snarled as she was placed in the back of a squad car.
God he hated Monday mornings. He slid back into his jeep and followed the squad car back to work.
"Where have you been?" Danny snapped as Steve passed through the glass doors. Too early.
"I'm having a bad morning D 'kay?" Steve eyed the pensive faces of both Kono and Chin as he made a bee line for his office frowning.
"Well excuse me for been on time and courteous in the morning! How was your weekend? Oh mine was fine, how was yours?"
"Really?" Steve raised a questioning eyebrow as he flipped through his mail eyeing Danny from underneath his brows.
Danny paused, quickly assessing the situation.
"Okay, just tell me what you did now."
"What makes you think I done something?" Steve sighed slumping into his seat.
"Aneurism face. So spit it out babe."
"Traffic altercation."
"Who you run over?"
"Nobody." Steve tsked annoyed, "I pulled someone over-"
"Wait wait wait, what!? You What!? You pulled someone over? Super Seal trying to be a super cop now!?"
Steve huffed, annoyed with himself and annoyed with Danny and he continued to scold him.
"YO D!" Chin called from his office, "PD want you downstairs pronto!"
"What for?"
"Something to do with boss' altercation this morning."
Danny's eyes narrowed, his finger still pointed at Steve's face from his previous rant as Steve's eyes widened slightly.
"This better not result in paperwork for me." Danny warned as he exited the office, "Speaking of which you had better catch up on yours. I'm filing all closed and current cases by tomorrow evening and out of the four of us you're lagging behind Stephen. I do not do un-filed. Chin! Bring solider up to speed before I get back."
"Boss, Danny is very meticulous when it comes to paperwork. He has Kono and I going over our work to make sure we have crossed our t's and dotted our i's. You really need to get a move on on yours." Chin sympathized as he loaded Steve's inbox up to the brim. The horror growing on his face.
"No murders, unsolved crimes?" Steve whined. He hated paper work, especially paperwork that involved Danny, which was all.
"No boss and D is wound up about how unorganized and late our submissions are, you know his-"
"Are perfect and completed?" Steve finished sighing.
"Yeah."
"Great."
Steve shifted in his seat agitated, drumming his pen off his desk and leafing through his current file. He needed coffee, eyeing the clock he was in work less than an half hour. Danny would murder him if he wasn't in his office when he got back and he was still on his first file as he glared unhappily at the remaining ten. He could see Kono and Chin in their respective offices with heads down. Danny should have been a teacher. Steve found himself holding his breath as Danny came storming through the double doors with the woman from this morning in tow. Half of him was relieved as it was a case and therefore no more paper work, the other half was dreading it as he would have to face her again. He caught Kono's surprised look through the glass as Danny opened his office door and motion the woman in with more force than necessary and flinched as he slammed the door closed. Steve strained his neck as he saw Danny sit down and the woman follow suit. The advantage of the office layout and design they could see each other without too much interference. The disadvantage, when you shouted like Danny shouted, you could hear everything.
The fact that Danny was swearing didn't bode well for the woman or for him, so Steve slipped out of his office and knocked on Danny's door. His partner's head snapped up with a face of thunder, Steve swallowed before cracking the door open. He did not dare step inside.
"Everything okay?"
"Oh just peachy, cheers." the woman smiled icily.
"Did I say you could fucking talk!?" Danny snapped. He was seething with rage.
"Steven I would like you to meet Claire. Claire I would like you to meet Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett."
"Army man?"
"Navy SEAL."
"Oh a SEAL." Claire nodded processing, "So not a cop?"
"No." Steve could feel his insides clench as he tried to keep his face passive.
"Interesting, so how come he doesn't get in trouble for pretending to be a uniform?" Claire turned back to the stewing Danny.
Kono looked up as Chin slipping into her office. She had a direct line of sight into the growing tension.
"You wanna slip out for a coffee?"
"Should we cuz? This could be a potential case."
"No this is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better."
Kono raised a questioning eyebrow at Chin.
"Duke sent this up for Danny." Chin pointed out waving the file in front of her.
"You read it? What is it?"
"Read it for yourself." he said handing the file to her.
Kono scanned through it quickly not sure if they should have read it.
"Oh!" She breathed.
"Yeah that was exact reaction and I don't think the boss knows."
Claire looked from the deathly stare of Danny and the confused demeanor of Steve. Huffing loudly, eyeing her watch she turned in her chair again, outstretching her hand.
"Claire Miles, twenty-eight, doctor at Hawaiian Medical Centre who is currently late for work."
"...right..." Steve replied unsure, taking her surprisingly firm grip acutely aware that Danny's deathly glare was penetrating his skull directly between his eyes.
"...nee Williams." Claire added sweetly releasing Steve's hand which was left hovering. He met Danny's eyes who now rested his flaring nostrils on his intertwined hands, his elbows resting on his desk.
"She is my sister."
Steve swallowed hard, his insides tightened another bit and his hangover headache suddenly notched up.
"Oh." he exhaled, dropping his hand to his side. "Ummm-"
Steve looked to Chin who slipped in silently handing Danny over the file and motioning that he was heading out. Steve watched the two cousins make their hasty retreat to sweet sweet coffee, he slowly turned back to face the two siblings.
Danny skimmed the file and let it fall to his desk with a audible slap.
"My baby sister who seems to have been living here for the past seven months." Danny fixed her with a stare.
"Ah maybe I should leave you two to this erm-"
"Catch-up?" Claire suggested.
Steve's eyes widened. He could practically see never mind feel the tension rolling off his partner.
"Like I said I'm late for work so if we are done here I'll be on my way." She addressed her brother.
"Yes? No? Okay I'm gone, you know where to get in contact with me. Steven it's-"
"Sit down." Danny spoke coldly.
"No. Am I been arrested?"
"NOW!" Danny roared.
Claire flinched a fraction before squaring her shoulders.
"Am I been arrested?"
"No." Danny replied curtly clenching his teeth.
"Right well then I'm going to work." she said grabbing her bag from the floor and making her way to the office door.
"I'm not arresting you but-"
"But what?"
"I'm serving you with the maximum $5000 fine for driving with a previous conviction, suspending your driving license for three years and impounding your car to the state of Hawaii with immediate effect."
"Danny!" Steve protested. He felt guilty, he was the one that got her into this situation just because he was irritated. Mary had done far worse in her time and was never so seriously punished. Danny was going into overkill.
Claire stood still searching her brothers face for any sense that he was unsure but was met with a stone wall. She cleared her throat trying to get rid of the lump that was growing. She inhaled deeply steadying herself.
"Fine. I broke the law and you are an officer of the law. Do I need to sign something?"
"Claire Miles?"
"Yes?"
"You've been served." Danny said standing up and handing her the brown envelope that was enclosed in the file. "You have thirty days to contest and pay the fine. I'll have your car keys."
Claire took the envelope and stuffed it hastily into her shoulder bag. Fishing out her keys she fumbled to get the car key off the set but managed in the end.
Steve really thought she was going to fire the key at Danny but she handed it over civilly.
"Is that all, am I good to go now?"
"That's everything."
Okay then. Daniel. Steven, I hope you have a fan-fucking-tastic day!"
Steve watched her go before rounding on his partner,
"Danny that was completely uncalled for!"
Danny ignored him getting his paper work into order and sitting down. He lifted the handset of his phone.
"Danny!"
"Steven your stunt this morning has resulted in more paperwork for me. I also had to talk the chief around to not charging you which is no easy feat. So do me a favor. Go get a coffee, some painkiller, get over your hangover quick. Get those files submitted to me by days end and kindly get out of my office. I have a private call to make." Only when the last word came from his deadpanned mouth did Danny actually look at Steve.
"I-"
"Now Steven."
Steve turned on his heel and stormed out of the office. He had never seen Danny like this and truthfully it scared him. The clenching of his insides had turned into a churning of bile. Not because of his hangover but guilt. Guilt of what he just brought upon his best friend. Exiting onto the street he caught a glimpse of Claire getting into a taxi. He was sure offering her a lift was not the smart option. Running his hands through his hair and scrubbing his face he headed to their local coffee store. He need to fill Chin in and get feedback from the cousins.
"Claire you're late!" Lisa called out. Lisa was a sweet lady in her late fifties who manned the admissions desk. Her heart was as big and warm as her heavy stature. Since arriving in Hawaii Lisa was Claire's rock.
"I know I am sorry, I am just after having the shittiest morning in a long while!"
"Sweetpea you can fill me in later when you catch up with your tail but Roger is out for your blood and rounds are nearly finished."
"Shit!"
"You gonna be cleaning that up all week when he's finished with you!" Lisa called out after Claire disappeared into the locker room and emerged seconds later struggling to get her id, white coat and stethoscope on her.
"Is he really upset?" Kono asked stirring her latte mindlessly.
"I've never seen him like this. Yeah when Matt went awol he was upset as was the family but this is more anger than upset." Steve added.
"Look boss there's nothing you can do now, just keep your head down and give him the space he needs to sort this out."
"Cuz his sister has been here for seven months and she hasn't made any contact with him! If I were him yeah I'd be majorly pissed!" Kono countered.
"Kono we don't know that." Steve breathed.
"We actually do boss, Duke rang up and done the background check that Danny requested. Duke said Danny had no clue she was on the island."
"Ugh I should have just let it slide!"
"And what? Danny finds out another couple of months down the line? Nah brah! It's good he found out now." Chin stated.
"Yeah but he took her license and car away and slapped her with a whopper of a fine!"
"Unfortunately that it the standard-"
"Family Chin, not for family."
Both cousins looked at Steve, they all knew about family and the law.
"I hate Mondays." Steve groaned.
Danny rubbed his chin absent mindly pouring over the information in front of him. Sighing he signed his name on the bottom of the report. He had rang his parents about Claire and was uneasy to learn that the did not know she was in Hawaii either that Casey, her husband was still in Jersey.
"Trouble in paradise." Danny breathed to himself. Taking the file in hand, he noted that the other three had return from their prolonged coffee break. Without a word he left the office aware they were all looking at him. He submitted his file to Duke before heading to his car. He had no destination in mind, he just need to clear his head and sort out his battle plan.
"Sweetpea you're diggin' a hole and diggin' it deep."
Claire huffed throwing her head back, twirling slowly in her chair. This morning's fiasco had her a double shift from Roger and thankfully they were admist a lull in patients.
"I don't blame him for been angry. Maybe should have e-mailed and I don't really blame him for doing his job but he could have been more lenient and Christ it stung. Proud I didn't cry though!" Claire gave Lisa a lopsided grin.
"You haoles are a crazy bunch."
"Rich coming from you!"
"Hey! Third generation here. So has Roger ruined your Thanksgiving plans?"
"No not really, nothing like dealing with food poisoning all weekend! Anyway I have much bigger problems to deal with now."
Lisa eyed Claire shaking her head in confusion, the haole truly was an enigma.