When the stakes are high

By

Landon Richardson and TealRose

Official Disclaimer

The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and anyone else within the story who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.

The character of Danni Williams could probably be considered mine by now. Although the character was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably to say that she is now her own individual character. She has her own story and her own separate background now, a background and story which is different from male Danny's story. This also means that Grace is different as well since not only does she live full time with her mother but also because Danni and Duncan have a fairly civil relationship with each other. Grace's surname is also Taylor in this saga as Williams is Danni's maiden name while Taylor was her married name.

The characters of Special Agent Jack O'Connor and Ryan Moore do belong to me though.

I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you don't recognise from the show then they probably belong to me as well.

Author Note

Welcome to Chapter Two!

I am enjoying writing Steve's jealous side, especially with how unreasonable it can make him which is what jealousy does!

Anyway please enjoy the chapter.

Overall Summary

Steve McGarrett had always known that his jealousy was his Achilles heel and that his partner brought out the worse in him but when his jealousy causes him to act out during a case it may cost him everything he love… it may just cost him Danni (Written with Tealrose, part of the 'What could have been' saga, female Danni, McDanni)

Chapter Summary

To say that Danni was confused about the situation she found herself in was an understatement to say the least.

Overall Romance

Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)

Mention of Ryan Moore / Danni Williams (Rynni)

Chapter Romance

One sided Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)

Mention of Ryan Moore / Danni Williams (Rynni)

Other note

Nearly all the places I have stated within this story are either made up or have been gotten from google so I'm sorry in advance if I've got anything wrong or anything.

Other, other note

There are plenty of other McDanni stories exploring different saga and different ways of how things happened. If you're interest in any of them then please check them out. I'm regularly updating so you shouldn't be waiting too long

Chapter Two

Who is he?

To say that Danni was confused about the situation she found herself in was an understatement to say the least.

She just couldn't wrap her head around what Steve's apparent problem with her could be and why he was choosing to take it out on her in such a public fashion when they had both always been so careful to show a united front in front of everyone.

She had thought that they had all had a great time together at the BBQ which Steve had thrown on the Saturday just gone, though she had noticed the way his attitude had changed slowly from friendly and welcoming to cool and reserved, which was one which she had never seen from him before. She had caught him glaring at Ryan at the strangest times as well, as though he genuinely resented the other man even being there, even when they had been playing volleyball in the water as a group, he had been strangely reserved. The only thing which had stopped her pulling him aside on that day to demand what was wrong, was the fact that he had been completely normal and attentive to her when it was just the two of them together, wrapping his arms around her and throwing her into the water, laughing when she had broken to the surface, spluttering and promising revenge on him.

The BBQ had been fun and exactly what the team had needed after the previous week they had experienced.

She had relaxed so much that she had even gotten drunk with Kono which was unusual for her since she rarely drank as a rule and which meant that Ryan had been forced to leave early to drive her home. She had been lucky enough, though she had no idea how, not to have a hangover the next day so when Toast and Kono had appeared at her front door bright and early to ask her to come to the Comic Con with them she had been able to agree happily enough, since her daughter Grace was spending the weekend with her father it had meant that she was free of plans.

Her thoughts had wandered repeated to Steve throughout the day and evening as she had tried to figure out what was wrong with him but the answer had alluded her. Whatever it was which was plaguing the older man was a mystery which she couldn't solve.

Considering what had just gone down it was clear that whatever it was involved her which meant that they needed to sit down and talk about it before things got worse between them.

"I don't suppose you have any idea about what that little scene was about do you?" Danni asked calmly as she turned to look at Kono who was staring at the door which Chin and Steve had exited out of with wide eyes, a look of disbelief etched on her features.

"I'm not too sure to be honest with you, normally I'd be asking you if you know since you're the one who knows him the best out of us." Kono replied, her dark gaze meeting Danni's. "I spoke to Chin earlier and he said that he had tried to call Steve yesterday so see if he wanted to grab a drink but the boss man wasn't picking up to anyone. Did you try and call him when we were at the comic con?" She questioned, biting her lower lip when Danni shook her head.

"I thought about asking him to join us but I just figured it wouldn't be his sort of thing or that he would be busy. He was a bit… off at the BBQ" Danni admitted reaching up and rubbing at her neck, digging her fingertips into the tense muscle and praying that she didn't end up with a headache. "I don't understand why Steve has taken Chin with him to check out the scene instead of me. Chin is an amazing Detective but last time I checked I was Steve's partner which meant that things like this we're meant to do together, unless one of us is out of action which clearly isn't the case today." Danni said on a sigh, looking away from the sympathetic look which Kono shot her. She glanced back when Kono wrapped a long arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a one-armed hug.

"I never understand what is going on in the Boss's head Danni but is there is something to find them Chin will get it out of him." Kono pointed out.

"That he will" Danni agreed before she straightened, taking a step away from Kono. "We need to head out and interview the families, it may take a while depending on where they live but we should be able to get it done by this afternoon hopefully. One of them may have something we need to know"

"Sounds good, let me just grab my stuff and we'll go" Kono agreed with an easy grin at her before she turned and headed towards her office.

Danni breathed out, biting at her lower lip for a moment before she shook her head and headed towards her own office to gather her stuff together.

The issue with Steve would simply have to wait.

Chin watched the passing scenery fly by aware of the heavy silence in the car, he had hoped that Steve would take the opportunity to say what was bothering him on his own but clearly that wasn't the case which meant that Chin would have to do some digging. He turned and looked towards Steve, noticing the tension in the younger man's body.

"So, what was wrong with you this weekend Steve? I tried to call you yesterday but you didn't pick up. Was there something wrong or was this to do with whatever has happened between you and Danni?" He asked, a vague undercurrent of interest to his voice.

He raised an eyebrow when Steve gritted his teeth together, clearly trying to keep his face locked in his SEAL mask as he replied.

"I was busy yesterday" He said shortly, falling silent for a moment before speaking again. "As for your other question, nothing happened between me and Danni because as usual Ryan was there, the same way that Ryan always seems to be there on our days off or when something for the team has been planned."

Chin blinked, trying to hide his surprise not only at Steve's answer but also the tone in which he said it. A tone which sounded strongly like jealousy to Chin.

"What exactly does Ryan have to do with you and Danni? He's a nice guy and he and Danni are good friends who occasionally go out to dinner together but that's it. It makes sense they are friends considering how much they have in common; both are from the mainland, both have kids. They aren't dating each other, it's the same as if Danni and I went to dinner together. You've never seemed to have issue with him coming to team events before. Has something changed since then?"

"It's nothing to do with me whether they are dating or not though considering the job it wouldn't be a good idea, the last thing we would want is to be embroiled in a scandal." He stated.

"A scandal?" Chin repeated though Steve continued to speak over him.

"It seemed to me like the pair of them were planning on having a lot of fun together on Saturday night and probably all of Sunday as well." Chin blinked, watching as Steve's eyes narrowed, his eyes tightening on the steering wheel with enough pressure that Chin wouldn't have been surprised if there were indentations on the leather.

"What exactly do you think happened between the two of them Steve?" Chin demanded with a raised eyebrow. "Because if you're saying that Ryan and Danni slept together then they didn't. I called Danni on Saturday night to see how she was and to make sure she had gotten home okay and she told me that Ryan had dropped her off at her door and left her there. She was by herself." He told him, watching as some of the tension eased out of Steve's shoulder before the other man snorted with a shake of his head.

"So, he left her alone on Saturday night, it doesn't mean that he left her alone yesterday when she went to the Comic Con. He told us on Saturday that he was off until Wednesday and I doubt if he was free then he would have let her go without him. Every time I turned around, he was right there next to her, literally every time which meant that I didn't get a chance to talk to her like I wanted to." He said lowly, a look coming to his face which made it clear that the subject was closed.

Chin sighed silently to himself as he tried to figure out the best way to disarm the bomb which was clearly steadily ticking away in Steve's mind. He could remember John McGarrett talking about Steve to him one time when they had been working late on a case and him mentioning his son's possessive nature over things which he considered his but Chin had thought that John must have been exaggerating since he had never seen any sign of it during his previous encounters with Steve. Now however he could see that John had been speaking the truth and that the only reason why Chin hadn't seen it before now was because there had never been anyone to trigger it quite the way that Danni apparently did.

He thought back to the barbecue, there had been several instances when Ryan had hung around close to Danni, chatting with the small blond but there had been several other times when he had gone to talk to one of the other people hanging out or when he had been helping Chin and Jack to bring out all the food since it had been their responsibility to provide it since the girls had taken care of it at the previous barbecue and they tended to take it in turns.

For whatever reasons, these moments when Danni had been talking to other people and nowhere near Ryan hadn't registered with Steve or if they had he was choosing to ignore them.

"It's probably a good thing that Danni isn't here because if she could hear you now, she would kick your ass after ripping you a new one." He said, frowning when Steve remained silent. "McGarrett are you listening to what I'm telling you? I said that…"

"We're here now, let's get this case going, we don't have time to waste" Steve interrupted, pulling his Silverado into an empty space near the entrance and killed the engine, climbing out of the truck and slamming the door behind him before Chin could say another word. The older man sighed, shaking his head, knowing as he climbed out of the truck that it was going to be a long day.

They entered the arena, flashing their badges at the nearest security guard and asked to be taken to the organisers who were suitably horrified by what had occurred under their noses once Steve and Chin had explained the situation to them. They had quickly given their permission for them to look through all the surveillance footage before leaving them alone in the security room with someone to help them.

Chin had been staring at the screens for about twenty minutes straight when his cell phone buzzed at him. He reached down and pulled it out of his pocket, glancing down at the picture and name flashing at him

"It's Danni, Steve" He told the other man when he noticed the questioning look the other man shot him before he slid his thumb over the screen and hit the connect button. "Hey Danni, what have you got?" He asked her.

He heard her sigh on the other end of the phone, picturing the way she would be raising her grey eyes towards the heavens as she spoke.

"Don't tell me, Steve is glaring at you right, now isn't he?" She asked him, the comment causing her to chuckle at how well she knew her partner even when they were separated from one another. Chin leaned back into his chair glancing towards the other man, unsurprised to see him glaring at the screen in front of him with a murderous look which made Chin's head ache.

"Something like that Danni" Chin told her cautiously before he brought the conversation back onto safe, neutral ground. "So, what have you and Kono got from the families? Anything we could use."

"Nothing that stands out as a reason for why this has happened to them" Danni told him. "What about the two of you? What are you doing?"

"We're in the security room at the place where the Comic Con is looking over the security videos but so far we haven't found them yet though given the amount of people who were here, it's not surprising."

"It was rammed there yesterday so I can appreciate that" Danni replied warmly. "Just a moment Chin, Kono's trying to attracting my attention."

"Yeah sure" Chin said, waiting for her to speak again, he could hear the faint sound of Kono's voice but not the words which she was saying. He turned to Steve.

"They haven't found anything with the families yet though Kono may have just found something if the tone of her voice is anything to go by." He told Steve who nodded and leaned towards the screen in front of him with a searching look which turned into a smug smile.

"I've got them" He stated.

"You have?" Chin demanded, coming to his feet and moving towards the screen, focusing on the group which Steve was pointing out to him. "Yeah that's them alright, those outfits are pretty distinctive." They selected the group and began using the cameras to follow them though the crowd before Steve reached forward and paused it.

"Check out this guy here" He said, pointing to a figure on the screen. "He's been following them but doesn't appear to be part of the group."

"We can't see his face though" Chin said with a frown, taking in the tall man's mask which concealed his face from the cameras

"We might have something on our end as well Chin, could you put me on loudspeaker please, I think Steve needs to hear this as well." Danni said suddenly, reminding Chin that she was still on the phone.

"Yeah sure, give me a moment" He said, looking towards Steve. "Danni has something to tell us both." He explained as he hit the loudspeaker button. "Go ahead Danni, we can both hear you now."

"We spoke to two of the families now and both of them have told us the same thing. That the girls went to the Comic Con every year without fail and they always wore the same outfits for both days. It was apparently their trademark look for the event and what they were known for. Thing is that both parents have said that group consisted of six girls, not three but as you know we've only found three bodies so far. If it was the group as a whole who were targeted then it means that we may have three other victims out there who are either already in danger or have already been killed." She told them, a concerned note to her voice.

"Damn it" Chin said softly, reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose, his gaze flickering to Steve who was looking as though he was biting the inside of his mouth, clearly taking in the information that Danni had just given them.

"I noticed that there were three other girls who were with them but I figured that they were just part of the crowd and not with our victims. Did the parents say why they wore the same outfits year after year? Would their taste not change as fashions changed?" Steve asked.

"Costumes like the one they are wearing are expensive even if they made it themselves. A lot of fans who come to these events will pick one costume, normally their favour character and simply recycle the look year after year like these six have. The event is only once a year so it would make sense." Chin answered him, grinning at the look Steve shot him. "Kono and a few other cousins are big fans of this, trust me, I know more about these events then I care to."

"Our best bet then is to try and identify the person who has been following them in the footage, if we can figure out who he is then we can look into the others." Steve instructed with a nod.

"Danni, I'm going to send you and Kono a picture of the outfits including the one of the guy's, maybe the families will recognise it." Chin said.

"Sounds good, we'll call you once we've spoken to them. We still have the last family to go but they live near to where we are now so it shouldn't take long." Danni said before she hung up the phone. Chin glanced at Steve taking in his tense shoulders before he focused his attention back on the screen as they continued to map the girls' route.

Everything else could wait.

"That was pretty tough" Kono muttered as she closed the front door behind them, leaving the distraught family alone so they could grieve in peace.

"Interviews like this never get easier" Danni responded as they moved down the garden path and climbed into Danni's Camaro. "I should probably call Chin and let him know what is going on." She said, leaning back in her seat for a moment before she sighed and rummaged through her bag, picking out her cell phone from within. She shot Kono a questioning look when the younger woman reached out and rested her hand against Danni's arm.

"It might be better if you called Steve directly Danni." She advised softly. "I know that he's been acting like a dickhead but he's still the boss and you never know, maybe hearing from you would make him feel better." She pointed out.

Danni snorted at the comment, shaking her head.

"You know It's not actually my job to make him feel better when he's acting like he is and taking it out on me but I'll call him but only because he is technically the boss." She replied as she pressed down on the number one button and bringing the handset to her ear, her gaze focusing on Kono as she continued to speak. "If he doesn't pick up then you're going to owe me dinner and drink." She stated before turning her gaze to the window screen and stared out of it, waiting for her partner to answer her call.

Chin blinked when he heard Steve's cell phone go off and glanced at it briefly, relieved to see Danni's picture flash on the screen, a picture he noted had both Steve and Danni in it, grinning happily at the camera with Steve's arm wrapped around her shoulder pulling her into a hug. A photo, which if he didn't know better, he would assume was a picture of a happy couple. His eyes flickered up in time to see a small smile come to Steve's face before the familiar sight of his SEAL mask slammed down over his features.

He would have to buy his cousin a drink since he knew that she was no doubt behind Danni calling Steve instead of himself.

"Hey Danni, you're on loudspeaker with me and Chin, have you and Kono managed to find anything about the guy's costume?" Steve asked as he accepted the call, automatically placing it on loudspeaker so Chin could hear as well, his voice softening slightly allowing Chin to breathe slightly easier.

He grinned when Danni spoke in a surprised tone as though she hadn't expected Steve to pick up her call. He couldn't blame her considering what had happened at the office but still, hearing Danni being actually surprised by something was amusing to him.

"Oh, erm yeah, we have found out something or rather Toast did. He's been able to provide us with the name of the other three girls who was part of the same group that our victims were. He's given us their addresses so we're going to drive to them now and see firstly whether they are there and if they aren't whether there is anything there which might shed some light over why they were taken. They are all in the same area so we should be able to do it quickly. When we spoke to the sister of Jessica Gregory, she mentioned that Jessica had been receiving some strange emails but that she had ignored them thinking they were a prank because apparently a photo from the year before had been attached. It could be that the other people in the group received similar emails."

"So, whoever took them most likely noticed them all last year and managed to find out something about them or he already knows them in real life." Steve said thoughtfully as he turned to the security guard who had remained with them. "Was there anything reported last year which seemed out of the ordinary? Maybe some complaints about people feeling as though they were being followed while here?" He questioned the guard who looked thoughtful for a moment before he slowly nodded.

"Actually, now that you mention it there was one thing, I remember being told about one by one of the other guards. A kid latched onto a group and wouldn't leave them alone, wherever the group went, the kid went as well regardless of the fact that they had told him repeatedly to get lost. They couldn't ID who he was though because of the mask he was wearing which covered his whole face. All we could tell was that he was tall which made us question whether he was a kid at all or an adult acting like a kid. Every time one of the guards on duty would approach, he would disappear, we never actually found him." The man told them.

"The group who the kid latched onto, have you seen them here this year at all?" Chin asked.

"It's hard to tell" The guard replied, his eyes flickering over all the screens with a frown. "But if I had to guess then I would say that they haven't been here. The costume they wore really stood out and were always the same but I haven't seen them this year, so unless one of my colleagues have then I would say no."

"This isn't his first time doing this" Steve stated, at the same time as Danni did, making Chin smile though he quickly hid it. "Great minds think alike hey Danni" Steve said, in the same tone which Chin was used to hearing the younger man use with the blonde.

"That's why we work so well together Steve." Danni replied back with a soft laugh.

"Do you have any of the footage from last year?" Steve asked the guard who nodded at him.

"Normally we don't but the boss thought we should keep them in case HPD wanted to see them if they took the case over." He said as he came to his feet and headed across the room, unlocking one of the drawers which he searched through before pulling out a CD case which he brought back with him, inserting it into the disc player and pressing play.

They watched for a moment before Chin spoke up.

"It looks like the same guy to me, he's the same height and build and the mask looks familiar though not a hundred percent the same."

"I agree" Steve said with a nod before he spoke towards the phone. "Danni, get to the remaining houses and see whether any of the girls are there. Make sure you have back up with you if you think you'll need it. Keep me in the loop." He stated.

"On it, good luck to you guys as well." Danni said before she hung up on her end.

"Have you seen any sign of this guy today?" Chin asked, sharing a look with Steve when the guard shook his head.

"I think we've found our killer, now all we have to do is to figure out who the hell he is."

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