Steve had been so unnerved by Danny's late night call that he was waiting for his partner by pacing the front yard. One minute before 9:30 he heard the familiar thrum of an engine, then the Camaro pulled up. Danny didn't cut the engine, just opened the door and half stood up. With a nod towards the passenger door, he slid back behind the wheel. Steve's "something's wrong with Danno" radar went ballistic as he trotted over car and got in. Not sure what to do, Steve buckled his seatbelt and wiped his hands down the side of his cargos.
Since both men were always on call because of their positions with Five-0, Steve had his badge at his waist and was packing. Danny waited till Steve was buckled up then said, "Lock your gun in the jockey box, but leave your badge on. It''ll help." Steve badly wanted to say something, but he held his tongue, following Danny's direction.
Seeing Danny's gun already in the box, Steve placed his next to it and closed it. He turned to get a good look at his partner. Danny was dressed in jeans, layered pull overs and sneakers, his badge in it's customary place on his waistband. The badge looked like it had been recently polished, shining brightly in the sunshine. Over all, it was the most casual Steve had seen Danny in a long time at least as far as clothing went. His demeanor was anything but casual. At the risk of being cliche, "You could cut the tension with a butter knife." As badly as he wanted answers, Steve reigned in his curiosity and settled back to wait for his friend to tell him what was going on.
It was ten minutes before Danny spoke again. "I know this isn't easy and I know you want answers, but I need you to just follow my lead for a while and I promise, promise that I'll explain everything afterwards. I also know I'm asking a lot and before we're done it's going to be even more. I'll completely understand if you say no, but I really need you to just go with this and wait till the end before you make any decisions. Can you do that for me, Steve?"
"Can I just ask one question?" Seeing Danny's nod he continued, "You're not sick or dying are you, partner?"
Startled by the question, it took Danny a second to reply, "What? No. I'm not dying and before you ask, neither is Grace."
"Oh, okay. Good." Steve's relief lacing those three words.
Steve looked out the window, surprised that he recognized the residential area they were in. They were only about twenty minutes from Danny's and even less to HQ. When Danny slowed and pulled into a parking lot, Steve was puzzled. He didn't know there was a place of business around here, then his saw the sign, Palms Transitional and Permanent Living Center. What the hell was going on. Steve watched closely as they parked, got out of the car and walked to the door, but Danny was giving nothing away.
Danny stopped and turned to Steve before he opened the door to the facility. "Remember, please just follow my lead. Keep your voice low key and don't make any sudden movements. Oh, yeah, turn the ringer off on your phone." Steve nodded his reply and follow Danny inside.
The woman at the front desk broke into a huge grin when she saw who was walking through the door and ran around the desk to envelope Danny in a hug. "Danny, good to see you. Saw what happened yesterday on the news. You doin' okay?"
Wrapping the woman, who was old enough to be his mom, in a one armed hug, Danny showed the first signs of being, well Danny, since he'd picked up Steve. "Yeah, Ami. I'm good. How's he doing today?"
"I haven't talked to Carol this morning. Let me page her for you. In the mean time, who's this distinguished gentleman?" she asked staring at Steve.
"Oh, sorry. Ami Marten, this is my partner Steve McGarrett. Steve, this is Ami, watchdog extraordinaire."
"Nice to finally meet you, young man," Ami said as she slapped Danny on the arm and thumbed a code into the walkie talkie she was holding.
"Nice to meet you too, ma'am," Steve chuckled, watching Danny rub the contact spot.
As she moved back to her station behind the desk, Ami continued the conversation, "Figured you'd be in this morning since you couldn't make it yesterday. How'd the dance go? Did you make it to that?"
"Yeah, I did. Grace had a good time." Danny responded while looking at his partner. He knew that Steve was almost to the breaking point of patience, but he silently sent him a plea to hold out a little longer. Steve caught the look and nodded again at Danny.
When he'd said this wasn't going to be easy, Danny wasn't kidding. With every passing second, Steve had more questions and he wasn't getting any answers. This woman obviously knew Danny very well if she was bring up Grace and the dance. Steve couldn't help but wonder why Danny would be on first name basis with the receptionist of a convalescent home. He really hoped he'd get some answers soon. Just as he was getting the courage to say something, a very efficient looking woman came down the hall towards them.
"Danny, it's good to see you in one piece. Thanks for making the world safe again for us humble subjects."
Danny let out a genuine laugh. "Jeez, Carol, could you get more cheesy?" Sobering a little he asked, "How's he doing?"
Steve literally felt the air cool around them as he watched the new woman school her expression. "He had a tough day yesterday. One of the new interns made the mistake of leaving the evening news on in the rec. room. Your story was the headliner. The night crew had to give him a mild sedative."
"What!" Danny almost screamed. "Why didn't someone call me?"
Carol cast her eyes downward, "The same intern decided that it wasn't necessary as everyone had told him you'd be here today. They thought they had it under control."
Danny took a controlling breath trying very hard to check his anger. "It says right in his file that I'm to be notified immediately should he require any additional medications. How did that escape this person's notice?"
All Carol could reply was, "Sorry, Danny. Guess there was a lapse in training."
Steve couldn't keep silent any longer even if he still had no clue what the hell was happening. "Has this person been dealt with? Has there been an attempt at starting retraining?"
"Yes, Commander, the facility director has already scheduled Luca for remedial classes. We take this type of breach in protocol quite seriously."
It should have bothered Steve more that this woman already knew who he was, but he was to busy trying to figure out how to help Danny. The man was way too calm again and a calm Danny wasn't a good thing. Before he could go any further, Danny laid a hand on his arm.
"Steven, it's okay. They're really diligent here. That's why I chose this place." Turning back to Carol he asked, "Is he in his room?"
"Yes. We all knew you'd be in so we figured it was best to let him hang out there."
"Thanks," Danny said as he motioned for Steve to follow him and reminding him to, "remember what I asked."
Danny wound his way through the building like it was his second home. He acknowledge with a wave and a quick smile, every greeting that was thrown his way. After several turns and hallways, he halted about midway down what felt like the twentieth hallway the pair had walked. The door before them was partially open but even at that angle Steve could read the name placard; N. Williams.
