Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0 or any of the characters.
A/N: This is a slightly longer chapter than usual. I'm going to Disneyland Paris on Wednesday with two of my brothers, their wives and kids (six in total – four boys, two girls) and my Dad, so thought I'd give ye something to keep ye going as I won't be back in Ireland until late Sunday night. Actually that's a complete lie…well not the bit about Disneyland, yes I'm going with almost the whole family…but the real reason the chapter is longer than usual is I got carried away!
An evil grin slowly appeared on Danny's face as he and Catherine approached Steve. Taking Catherine's beach bag, he handed it to Steve. "Mr Kelly, if you'd be so kind as to carry my wife's bag, also please bring our cooler box and picnic basket on board too…chop chop now, we don't want to keep my sweet pea waiting now do we?" he said as he grabbed Catherine into another tight clinch. He knew Steve was going to go ballistic once they were out of range of the office and the marina but until then, he was going to have some fun.
Danny and Catherine then walked ahead of Steve as he struggled with the bags and cooler. He was fuming by the time he reached the boat but kept up his side of the cover just as well as the "couple". He was, however, already planning his revenge.
It was twenty minutes before any of them broke character. Catherine was the first to spot Steve eyeballing his partner and jumped up as he marched towards the unsuspecting Danny. Putting her hands up and laying her palms flat on the Commanders chest she tried to sooth him.
"Hey now Sailor, stand down. It was all to keep our cover," she said, still holding him in place as he looked around at the slightly surprised Danny.
"Whoa, easy buddy. I was only yanking your chain," Danny supplied, however remaining out of reach of the ex-Navy SEAL.
Steve's eyes had darkened as he stared around Catherine. He never really thought he was the jealous type of guy but when Danny had started touching and holding his Catherine, he wanted to rip him limb from limb, best friend or not.
He never said a word but walked the few short steps back to the controls of the boat. Catherine gave Danny a little encouraging smile and followed.
"Hey Steve? You know we didn't mean anything by all that carry-on back at the marina? It was all just for show. And yeah I know, we were trying to get a raise out of you too… But, eh, thanks for being so protective," Catherine said a little coyly.
She thought she could see a glimmer of light in the dark eyes of her lover. However Danny took that moment to interrupt.
"Ah it's sweet that you're jealous, but you know I'm always yours, babe," Danny teased.
Steve's head snapped back to look at his partner. "I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him and feed him to the sharks," he said as he went to advance back towards Danny.
Catherine once again had to place herself between the SEAL and the detective.
"Steven J. McGarrett, will you calm down and ignore him, he's only trying to wind you up again," she said in her "Navy" voice, turning then towards the blonde detective, "And you…you better behave too or I will let him feed you to the sharks. Now both of you stop acting like a pair of delinquent teenagers and shake hands, we have much more important things to be thinking of here."
The two men squared their shoulders then and shook hands; and if Steve held on a little longer or a little harder, Danny never reacted.
"Right, back to work. I'll call Chin on the sat phone and see what's happening back at base. You two keep your eyes peeled for that damn zodiac," Catherine commanded.
Steve and Danny then stood looking towards the horizon, watching for any threats.
"Hey Steve, you know we were only messing about don't you?" asked Danny quietly.
"Mmm hmm," was all the reply he got.
Ten minutes later, Catherine stood beside Steve, "come on now, stop brooding. I now know we took it too far. We were only having a bit of a laugh. It's my fault, just as much as Danny's. We didn't think you'd take it so seriously."
"Cath, I can't help it, ok? I guess it just kinda hurt. I know it was part of the cover and all and yes I know that ye were only having a bit of fun but…I just can't explain it. He's supposed to be my best friend and he knew that it was bothering me but he just kept it going. Look just leave me be for a while ok? I just need to re-evaluate a few things."
Catherine walked away leaving Steve staring out over the great blue ocean. She went to Danny saying "We may have taken it too far."
Danny just nodded sadly; he had heard what Steve had said and was regretting everything. He really didn't think Steve could or would be so upset by a little teasing but then again he had had so much crap to contend with in his life up to this. Danny then realised that by their messing, Steve took it to be unkind and not something friends would do, so therefore Danny must not be his friend.
"Damn it" he muttered as he looked over at Steve, he was going to have to do some serious grovelling when they got back to land.
Also another hour past before anything happened.
Suddenly Steve spotted a small boat on the horizon. He waited until he was sure it was the zodiac with the pirates, then dialling Chin, he turned to his team mates and said "game time, we've got company."
Checking that their weapons were concealed and that Steve and Danny's hat were in place obscuring their faces for the moment, they waited for the inevitable attack.
Steve remained at the controls, while Danny and Catherine remained at stern, trying to look like they were the only two people in the world.
Within a minute, the zodiac pulled alongside the pleasure craft.
"Well lookie here, we've got a cute little haole couple out for "sport". Enjoying yourselves?" the Tongan pirate said as he leered at Catherine.
Making sure to keep his head down Steve stole a look at the power boat that had just pulled up alongside them. There were only three men on board, making the odds a little easier but also meaning that there were two unaccounted for. The "boss" still sported the goatee but had changed the colour of his bandana from green to wine. He could see that he was looking over Catherine with interest and he wanted to bust him down right there and then, but they had a plan and he needed to stick to it. It would actually be a little easier with just the three assailants.
They knew from all the reports that at least two pirates would come on board each time, tying up the tourists; then ransacking the boat taking anything of value. Then they would disable the boat and usually leave. Only on a couple of occasions was anyone actually hurt. The pirates just seemed to enjoy terrifying the tourists. Some of the attacks had yielded very little in the way of actual wealth but the sheer terror on the faces of those attacked was enough for the pirates.
The pirates hadn't even bothered taking out their guns, thinking this would be a very easy score. This new bride groom would be effortlessly subdued for fear of anything happening to his bride, he was an accountant for heaven's sake.
The leader jumped on board, followed by Samuel's look-a-like, clearly his brother; the third remained at the controls of the motor boat. This was the one that Steve was to take out.
Still keeping his head down, he watched the other two circle Danny and Catherine. He looked to see could he make the jump to the other boat in one fluid move and decided he could. He just had to wait until he knew that it wouldn't put the others in danger.
"Hey Isaac, aren't these just the sweetest?" the boss said in a cutie voice.
"Yeah Anga*, just too sweet," Isaac laughed. "Sammy said the girl in the office nearly got a floor show outta them…maybe they give us a show huh?" he said as he walked over to Danny giving him a nudge in the back. Danny stayed still for another moment, waiting until he was sure Steve was in position to make the jump to the other boat and that Catherine was ready to take down the other one. He silently gave a sigh of relief that there didn't appear to be any guns.
The boss, Anga, did the same as he had done to Kono; he circled Catherine like a hungry shark, admiring her tanned body; drinking in her beauty. Hmm maybe he should get more than just a few "trinkets" from these Haoles, his girlfriend, Maya, would never know.
He had just stepped right into Catherine's personal space, wanting to see was her skin as silky soft as he imagined, when she gave the tiniest of nods and all hell broke loose.
She immediately put all her training into action, grabbing Anga by the back of the neck and bringing his head down to connect with her knee. He was not prepared for such an attack. He stood upright, shaking his head and tried to punch out but was blocked each time.
Danny shot his elbow back into Isaac's gut, bringing his fist up then to meet Isaac's head as he tried to double over from the first assault. He recovered quickly however and gave as good as he got. He and Danny traded punches to the gut, kidneys and face.
Steve watched for a split second, wanting to help but knew he needed to neutralise the third pirate as quickly as possible because he was still within easy reach of the weapons. Jumping over to the zodiac, he brought his fist down planning to connect with the pirates face, but at the last minute he moved out of the way and Steve only managed to punch him in the shoulder. The pirate rolled with the punch and was immediately taking an attack stance with a large dagger in his hand. Damn where did that come from, Steve thought as he glanced at the blade.
The pirate attacked in an instance, Steve managed to parry many of the blows but eventually the pirate got lucky and struck down the way slicing across Steve's left lower arm. Steve hissed with pain but kept going, knowing he needed to end this soon, for himself and for his team on the other boat. Kicking out he finally succeeded in dislodging the knife from his attacker's hand. He dived forward, somehow grabbing the pirate in a headlock, using his right arm to cut of the blood flow to the man's brain. Seconds later he could feel the man go limp, laying him down, he flipped him on his stomach and using the strong zip ties in his shorts pocket he had his hands and feet secured in quickly.
Steve looked down at the blood on his arm, he knew he would need to deal it very soon but first he had to make sure his team-mates were ok.
Anga was tiring, trying to hit Catherine; she was dodging every punch and was getting the odd one in herself. However as Steve straightened up from tying up his man he saw Anga get in a lucky punch sending Catherine to the deck. He stood sneering down at her, planning exactly how he was going to teach this bitch a lesson, when two things happened almost at once. He suddenly felt his legs being swept from under him, making him land on his back and winding him. As he looked up, he was met with a Sig pointed straight between his eyes.
"5-0…do not move!" Steve said through clenched teeth.
Catherine scrambled to her feet, wincing slightly as she straightened up. Taking two more zip ties from Steve, she flipped Anga and had him cuffed immediately. She and Steve then sat him up at the side of the boat. He never said a word, how had he not recognised the two men. He just shook his head and remained silent.
All this time Danny and Isaac were locked in battle, neither quite over powering the other. Danny was really starting to feel the punishment and he just hoped that the other guy was also. He didn't know how long more he could keep it up. Once again he found himself on his hands and knees on the deck, his gun had long since been knock out of reach under the life-raft attached to the port side of the boat. He looked around to see was there anything he could use as a weapon, spotting an old fishing tackle box, he grabbed it swinging it up at Isaac, as he reaches down to finish off the detective. He got the box to the side of the head sending him into the "black abyss" promptly. Danny stared at his assailant lying beside him, thanking whoever was watching over him for letting him get the better of his foe.
Danny struggled to his feet, flinching as pain assaulted him. His head started to spin and he was finding it hard to take in a full breath. He could feel himself listing to one side, when suddenly he felt a strong pair of hands grab his two arms.
"Danny? Daniel? Are you ok? Hey Danno, are you with me?" Steve said quietly with more than a hint of concern in his voice.
"Hmm…yeah just…just give me a minute," Danny replied. He really wasn't feeling well and wanted to sit down.
As if reading his mind, Steve lowered him down onto the deck.
"Hey pal, you want to lie down?" Steve asked, still holding onto Danny.
"No, no…I'm ok…just lean me against something…I'll be ok in a minute," Danny choked out. Then opening his eyes properly he looked at his partner, "Hey Steve, you're bleeding."
"I'm good," Steve replied in his usual stoic manner. "I'm just worried about you. Danny, what hurts?"
Danny didn't reply for a moment, as he tried to catalogue all his pain.
"Please Danny; tell me where do you hurt?" Steve pleaded.
"Mmm…head is splitting...ooh, jaw not far behind…my stomach…my stomach…oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick," Danny said all of a sudden as a wave of nausea broke over him.
Steve moved instantly grabbing his friend up and managing to aim him over the side of the boat as he emptied the contents of his stomach. Holding him there for a few seconds longer, Steve rubbed circles on his back.
"Ok? You ready to sit back down?" Steve said quietly.
"Hmm, yeah thanks. Well there goes my damn record," Danny lamented, "and I can't even blame you for it babe."
Catherine had zip tied Isaac as soon as she saw that Steve was dealing with his partner, but now she really needed to step in.
"Steve let me look at your arm. You need to get that bleeding stopped," she said as she walked over to the two men.
"In a minute, I just need to check that Danny's ok," he replied.
"M'fine Steven, let Catherine look after you" said Danny quietly.
So Steve sat beside his partner as Catherine arrived back with a first aid box. She took out some sterile wipes, cleaning the cut as best she could, then smearing some ointment on it; she covered it with gauze and wrapped a bandaged tightly around it.
Steve went to stand up then, but was quickly stopped. "Where do you think you're going?" Catherine asked putting her hands on her hips in a no nonsense way.
"We need to notify Chin what has happened and we need to tie off the zodiac," he said in reply.
"You just sit there and keep an eye on Danny; I'll sort everything else out."
Catherine had Chin called, the pirates boat tied onto their own and the little homing beacon switched on in five minutes flat. Neither of the two unconscious men had woken yet and Anga was still just sitting there in stunned silence.
"Danny, how you doing?" Steve asked of his friend.
"M'good," Danny grinned but stopped again as a pain shot through his jaw, "Damn that hurts."
"I'm sorry about being such a douche earlier. I know ye were only winding me up, I don't know why I was acting like a prize moron."
"You were a prize moron but it's me should be sorry. I guess I forget that you're not used to having someone around to tease and torment you..."
"Thought that was your job already!" Steve grinned.
Catherine joined them a couple of minutes later, checking on the bandage she had wrapped around Steve's arm and then handing a little baggy of ice from the cooler to Danny to hold against his head.
"Shouldn't be much longer now boys," She said as she settled herself down beside Steve, placing her head on his shoulder. The three than sat in companionable silence waiting for Chin and the coast guards to arrive; none of them felt up to piloting their boat back to the marine.
Anga - Tongan boys name meaning Nature or Shark!
BTW: I'm not even remotely finished with whumping the guys…the title of the story is Pirate Revenge so be prepared for some revenge coming soon.