Chapter 4: When The Last Moon is Cast

Three Days Later, Steve's House, Oahu

"So," started Steve. "You're a virgin?"

"Oh my God! Really?" Kono turned from where she was coming out of the kitchen after finishing putting groceries into the cupboards.

"Yeah." Steve grinned at her and took a long drink from his Longboard. "Danny seems mighty distracted whenever you get too close."

"Maybe it's just that I'm a girl, did you think of that? Just because a unicorn goes a little creepy goofy near me does not make me a virgin, McGarrett."

"I don't know. Wikipedia and the fairytale books I found in the attic all seemed pretty sure you had to be a virgin. Plus most of the girls he keeps breaking out of the garage to find are little girls and a few of the older ones even admitted that they were still virgins."

"Shut up, Boss. Please. You are completely lolo!" Kono huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him.

Steve chuckled, amused despite the risk to his manhood should Kono really get pissed. "But, Kono, I'm having so much fun!" Steve tried using his puppy eyes on her as he would Danny. "You wouldn't ruin my fun, would you?"

"Oh knock it off. Those eyes only work on Danny." Kono smirked at the blush that pinked Steve's cheeks.

"Maybe that is true but I still think you are a virgin which begs the question of why? You had that suffer guy, Ben, who was obviously into you. Then there is the guy from the lab, Charlie? And I'm sure there were even more begging for it when you were on the Pro circuit. So why is our little Kono still unicorn crack?"

Groaning Kono grabbed an apple from the counter at threw it at Steve, who laughing, caught it. "Thanks, I'm sure Danny will enjoy this little treat."

"Just go flirt with your unicorn, McGarret, and leave us normal people to get ready for Grace."

Still laughing Steve wandered away from Kono, pleased with the teasing. There wasn't much to tease Kono about most of the time, as she was pretty good about keeping anything they might use against her under the radar. So finding out she may still be a virgin was going to fuel the teams teasing for weeks, maybe months, at least as long as they kept teasing Danny about being a unicorn, anyway. Of course Steve was sure Chin was pleased to know she was a virgin. Cousin or not he was mighty protective of her and Steve could understand and he was sure Danny did too. Both of them having sisters made them understand Chin's need to reassure himself that Kono was safe and not getting into trouble. And boyfriends and potential pregnancies always counted as trouble. The only reason more of Mary's boyfriends hadn't been scared off was that she was still on the mainland and Steve just didn't have time to fly over there every time she found a new guy.

Opening the door in the hall leading into the garage Steve stepped into the room that they had rushed to create for Danny. It wasn't perfect by any means but it was all they had right now. The room was fairly dark, just a bit of sunlight coming in through the one small window. He hadn't liked leaving Danny in the dark but the lights didn't have a dimmer on them and candles were certainly out of the question. Fortunately for Danny, the neighbors next door were leaving to visit their daughter on the mainland in an hour, so it would be safe for Steve to let Danny out into the yard as long as one of them was around to make sure he didn't run off again. Although he doubted Danny would since they would have both Kono and Grace here today to distract him.

From the gloom Steve could hear the soft chime of Danny's cloven hooves in the cement and straw floor as the unicorn came closer to him. Even in the relative darkness he could still see Danny. He almost seemed to glow, especially when he passed through the beam of sunlight coming in through the window.

"Hey there, Danno."

Danny whickered a pleased greeting and pressed his head into Steve's shoulder, glad to see the other man again.

Steve reached out to stroke his hand over Danny's head and down his neck. Steve couldn't get over how soft Danny's coat was and it had left him wondering if his hair as a human was just as soft. Even before this he had often fantasized about running his fingers through Danny's golden locks, tugging on them and curling strands around his fingers. Of course usual when he was fantasizing about that he was also fantasizing on the feel of Danny's naked skin against his own and what kind of sounds Danny would make in the throws of passion.

Last night he had woken up in a sweat, still trembling from the aftermath of an orgasm, the feel of Danny soft hair against his fingers still seeming far too real. At first he couldn't remember the dream but when he finally did he couldn't decide if it was the most erotic dream of his life or the most terrifying. It had started out like most of the others had, Danny and him kissing on the beach turning into sex on the beach as the sun set. But somewhere between the sex on the beach and waking up, Danny the human had turned into Danny the unicorn and that, honestly, had Steve a bit worried. He had never contemplated sex with animals before, had actually thought there must be something wrong with people who did, but here he was the morning after an erotic dream where the unicorn stallion Danny had fucked him into the ground.

Blushing hotly, he stopped petting Danny and went about checking over the makeshift barn. He could feel Danny's eyes on him following him about the room as he looked to see what would need cleaning. He tried to push the memory of the dream out of his mind, focusing instead on the task at hand. Danny may be a unicorn and they may be "pretty" and "magical" and all that nonsense, but he still apparently had to crap like any other animal.

Steve sighed, he should be grateful that enough of Danny's human mind was there to make him pick one corner to void his bowls and bladder in. Steve would have hated coming in and stepping in any of that filth.

Scrunching his nose up at the smell, he turned to look at Danny who had walked up behind him again and was resting his head of Steve's shoulder and look of obvious embarrassment on his little horse face as he noted what Steve had been looking at.

"Don't worry about it, Danno. It'll clean up."

Danny closed his eyes and seemed to just be breathing Steve in for a moment before he turned his head and tried to kiss Steve's cheek. Steve smiled again and reached one hand up to pat Danny on the cheek. "Chin went to pick up Grace. She'll be here in about twenty minutes and I'll explain to her what happened. Once the neighbors are one I'll bring you out so she can meet you."

- - - H50 - - -

The Edward's House, Oahu

Chin stood in the front hall of Danny's ex's mansion and couldn't help but wonder how much standing here like this every other week, waiting to see his daughter hurt Danny. Chin felt almost worthless standing here surrounded by the opulence of the place. There was no way he could ever afford a place like this for Malia and him on a cops salary, even with the extra pay from working for Five-0. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be on Danny, who used most of his savings to just follow them across the country, felt seeing this place and then comparing it to the crap-holes he could afford. Danny was a great guy, loyal, hard working and kind with the tenacity of a pissed off pit-bull. Chin hated thinking about how hard his life must be on him since the divorce. He couldn't imagine how much it would hurt to have Malia divorce him and run off to the east cost. If they had a kid he was sure he would follow, but some part of him would shrivel up a die if he was forced to leave these islands and the rest of his family.

"Detective Kelly."

Chin glanced up to the stairwell where Rachel was coming down. "Mrs. Edwards."

"I do hope everything is alright," she replied in a worried tone. "I was expecting Daniel."

"He's alright, he just got pulled into an emergency meeting with Steve and the Governor."

"Ah. Very well." Rachel seemed to relax, her shoulder becoming less tense. "Grace shall be right down."

"Thank you, Mrs. Edwards."

"It's quite alright. Would you like some tea? It won't take long to brew and it always takes Grace longer than it should to pack."

Chin smiled and followed her into the kitchen. "You have a lovely home."

"Thank you. Would earl grey be alright?"

"That would be fine, thank you." Chin sat down in one of the stools by the kitchen island. The place really was beautiful although it made him nervous. The kitchen and pantry had to the same size as Danny's apartment. The cost of the marble countertops had to cost more than Danny's rent as well. Shit

The tea was good. Perfectly brewed and the steam was heavy with the scent of the leaves. Chin let his eyes close as he savored the tea. The only kind he got most days was the instant blends in the break room, which were always too weak or far too strong. This was a pleasant change even if he had to sit here with Rachel Edwards in a home that was expensive enough to make his skin crawl.

"Uncle Chin," Grace cried out excitedly from behind him.

Chin turned around and slid out off the stool and down onto his knees, arms wide open as Grace came barreling into him. "Hey, Grace."

"What're you doing here, Uncle Chin?"

"I came to pick you. I'm gonna take you to Steve's house and we'll have some fun and maybe barbeque for dinner. Sound good?"

"Yeah," Grace smiled and hugged him tighter before stepping back to look at her mom.

"Are you all packed, Grace," Rachel asked, gently brushing a stray lock of hair out of Grace's face.

"Yes, Mommy."

"Alright. You be good for Mr. Kelly and the others today, alright."

Grace nodded excitedly and spun around to run back to where she had dropped her bag after she spotted Chin. Chin smiled at her, pleased as always that she seemed to so easily welcome all of Five-0 into her family. "We'll take good care of her."

Rachel looked at him and Chin was surprised at how easily she made him feel as if she could see into his soul. "I know."

Chin nodded and carefully rested his hand on Grace's head, ruffling her pigtails a bit as he followed her towards the front of the house. Grace was excitedly chatting about Mr. Hoppy's latest adventure after he escaped from his rabbit house outside. She kept the conversation up the entire way and Chin couldn't help but grin. Once she got comfortable around you she was just as animated a conversationalist as her Father. Hand gestures, loud voice and all.

Chin grinned to himself as he listened to her. "Why don't we stop at Liliha's and get some coco puffs. What do you think?"

"Yeah! Danno likes those."

"That he does." Chin smiled wider, his crinkling into halfmoons as they pulled to a stop outside the bakery. He wasn't sure they sugary treats would be at all healthy for a unicorn but Danny loved them and if anything called for a situation of sugary support, this was it. Stepping out of the car, Chin walked around to the other side where Grace was getting out, and took her hand leading her into the building.

Inside was as busy as normal but fortunately for them the girl behind the counter recognized him and just filled a box for them with Five-0's normal order, without Chin having to wait in line. Some of the other customers of course looked pissed about that but when the girl told him to have good day and to say hello to Commander McGarrett and Detective Williams the angry glares subsided. Most of the customers were locals and knew the names and were calmed simply by that while the few customers who were obviously tourists, still had the disgruntled look.

Chin gave her a quick thanks when she put it on their tab and herded Grace back to the car. They were running behind schedule a bit but Chin was sure that Steve and Kono could handle Danny for an extra fifteen minutes. The unicorn had been pretty docile so far and despite Danny stabbing a man in the shoulder with his horn, and wouldn't that be a story they were telling for years to come, he had been otherwise a very pleasant animal. Chin could actually say that he had never seen Danny quite this peaceful while he had been human. Maybe the whole thing would calm the normally rambunctious Jersey native down a bit after they found a way to change him back?

"Hey, Grace? There is something we should talk about before we get to Steve's house, okay."

Grace nodded, watching him with the serious little expression she always had when Danny or Steve had to tell her something.

Chin licked his lips and glanced over at her before turning back to face the road. "Your Dad, he's gonna look a little different from the last time you saw him."

"Was he shot," she asked, her voice small and trembling.

"No, honey. Danny wasn't shot. He's not hurt at all. I promise. But I need you to promise not to tell anyone what you see once you get to Steve's house. Alright?"

Grace nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Did he turn into a girl?"

Chin nearly chocked on his tongue, the car swerving a bit as he twisted to look at Grace. "What?"

"Tommy's Dad decided he wanted to be a girl and now Tommy has to call him Mommy."

"No. No, Danny is still your Daddy."

"Okay, then. So did he and Uncle Steve get married?"

This time Chin realized he was going to have to pull over lest he run them off the road. He wasn't sure where Grace was getting all these ideas, but he was sure it wasn't all from this Tommy boy. Too many people around the island thought Danny and Steve were "partners," so it more likely she heard some other adult comment on it. Maybe even Rachel and Stan. He had heard Rachel over the phone with Danny teasing him about Steve being his husband.

"Did they get married? 'Cause if they haven't yet I wanna be the flower girl and wear a pretty dress!"

"No, they haven't gotten married." Chin swallowed and tried not to laugh as he talked. "But I'm sure when they do they'll pick you as their flower girl."

"Okay." Pleased Grace went back to looking out the window at the ocean beyond the glass.

"Grace, do you know a lot about unicorns?"

An excited smile spread across Grace's face and before Chin knew it she was off again telling him about all her favorite unicorn stories and the stuffed unicorn that her Auntie Kate had made for her one Christmas. Chin could only smile because there was no way he was going to be able to get a word in about her Father turning into a unicorn at this rate. She was just so much like Danny.

They were just pulling onto the road leading up to Steve's house when Chin's cell rang. A quick glance at it showed that it was Kono. Hitting the accept button and quickly switching it to speaker phone he asked, "Kono? What's up?"

"Danno's wandered off again. Steve and I are trying to track him. We think he's headed towards Diamond Head."

"Diamond Head? Why would he go there?"

"There's a surfing contest to help raise money for sick kids. We think all the little kids in one place…you know."

"Yeah, okay. You two get him. Grace and I are just about at the house. We've got some coco puffs and masaladas."

Chin smirked at the sound of his cousin's pleased sigh. "Great. I'm gonna need it. Boss man's using me as unicorn bait again."

"Be careful, cuz."

"You got it."

The call cut off as Chin pulled up the drive leading to Steve's front door. Grace was watching him again with a confused and worried look, that made Chin cringe a little inside. He had scared her a bit, mentioning her Father just wandering off. That was very out of character for Danny and it was obvious his little girl knew it.

"Why don't we go inside while we wait for them to come back and I'll tell you all about how your Father met an island spirit."

Grace gave him another look he had seen on Danny's face before, skepticism. This was going to be a hard sell without the living proof to back up the story.

- - - H50 - - -

Somewhere Near Diamond Head, Oahu

"This better work boss man, 'cause I'm not doing this again," Kono growled. They had been tracking Danny for almost half an hour now and Kono was more than a little pissed off at having to do this again. She hoped they sorted this mess out soon because she didn't want to remain a virgin forever just so they had someone to lure their unicorn out with. Being the official unicorn bait for Five-0 was completely lame. She finally had a good boyfriend and she was hoping to loose her virginity relatively soon because she was tired of surfing, school, work and now a unicorn partner keeping her from getting a little action when they rest of the team seemed to find the time to bump uglies with random women. It was not fair at all.

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere, Kono."

"Whatever, Boss man. Let's find him so that we can get him back to his daughter. I'm sure Chin and Grace are back –" Kono cut off as they heard an excited whinny from behind some of the bushes.

A moment later they had an excited unicorn stallion prancing about around Kono, nuzzling her before darting off to nuzzle Steve. Kono thought it was cute, really that even as a unicorn Danny was obviously still attacked to Steve, even if he did keep coming back to cuddle with her. Hopefully once this had been resolved and Danny was human again, the two would get their act together and actually admit they had the hots for each other.

"You remember, Grace." Kono smiled as Danny gave another happy sounding whinny. "Alright, then lets hurry this along." Kono rolled her eyes and sighed as Danny shoved his head against her chest, again. She stroked his mane and looked over at Steve. "Can we go now? Please?"

"Yeah," Steve smiled wide and goofy at her. Still Kono could see the shadow of jealousy in his eyes as he watched her and Danny.

Rolling her eyes Kono led Danny back to the horse trailer and Steve's truck. It was much easier to get Danny in and out of the trailer now that they knew to have Kono go in first. Of course having to do this four or five times now also made it easier. Stepping out of the trailer, Kono quickly shut the door to it before Danny could turn around and follow her out. She could hear him inside making that sad unicorn sound he made every time she left. But he would calm down quick enough, as usual. Especially once he had a new virgin to focus on, one who was also his daughter.

Hoping into the cab beside Steve, Kono immediately grabbed the cell to give Chin a call and let him know they were on the way back. It was obvious from the sound of his voice over the phone that he was glade to hear that. Kono shared an amused look with Steve. She could only imagine what Grace was getting her cousin to do. Chin was just as tightly wrapped around Grace's finger as Steve and Danny were. That girl was gonna be epic when she got older, Kono was sure of it. She would just have to give Grace all the training she could to make sure Grace could defend herself for the less desirables. Of course, knowing the rest of the team, the guys probably already had there own self defense training plans for her.

"I'll bet ya' twenty that Grace has him playing Dolphin Trainer Annie." Kono smirked at Steve.

"Fine, I'll take that. Twenty says that she has him swimming."

"Deal."

The rest of the ride was fairly quiet for them both. Steve had turned the radio onto some god awful 70's rock station, which Kono had protested. Not that that had made a difference. Kono had grumbled for a bit before just giving it up as a lost cause and switched to messing with Danny's cell phone, which Steve had in his glove compartment for some reason. She had taken great delight in changing all the ring tones one by one to something new. She thought they would be fitting and amusing, especially the ringtone for Steve which was changed to "Drive My Car" by The Beatles. She had then changed the standard ringtone to "The Last Unicorn" and hoped that she could call Danny where she could see his reaction when the song started playing.

When they pulled into the drive a couple minutes later, Kono shot Steve a look. She was confident that she would be right about Grace and Chin playing with dolls. Steve shook his head, a grin spread across his face. Kono could tell he was sure he was going to win the bet. Both though were sure they'd be amused by whatever they found. Reaching into her pocket, Kono pulled out her cell phone and turned on its video camera.

Steve nodded, one finger raised in front of his lips for silence and went to the back to unload Danny. The three of them tried to sneak around back as quietly as possible, hoping to surprise Grace with the sight of a real unicorn. Kono had the camera ready to capture the first meeting between the little girl and Five-0's "unofficial" mascot.

As they rounded the side of the house Steve had to suppress a laugh as he realized that Kono and he were both right. Grace did have Chin playing with Dolphin Trainer Annie, but they were also swimming. Smirking he looked at Kono, who had already raised her phone to record her cousin and Grace playing dolls in the water behind the house. Behind him Steve could feel the Danny press against his back, trying to push him out of the way now that the unicorn had a clear line of sight to his daughter.

"All right, go then." Steve smiled a goofy lopsided grin and pressed himself against the wall of the house so that Danny could dash past him.

Steve smiled as Grace looked up at the sound of Danny's excited whinny, her eyes going wide and her mouth parting in an "o" or surprise. Chin was smiling beside her, as the unicorn pranced at the edge of the water for a moment before tossing his head and charging into the water to Grace. Grace let out a squeel of delight and reached up to pet the top of Danny's head, her fingers just brush the base of the horn. As they did Steve saw a look of understanding pass over her face and knew that like the rest of them she had felt Danny's thoughts, knew that the unicorn she was touching was her Danno.

"Well, what do you think, Grace-face? Is this a good make over for, Danno," Steve teased as he and Kono walked from where they had been hiding along the side of the house.

"It really is Danno," she asked, her voice sounding rather small and timid.

Steve walked into the water and brushed his fingers over her cheek, smiling as gently as he could. "It is. But he won't stay this way forever. We're working on getting your Danno back to the way he should normally look."

Grace nodded and let her eyes drift back to the unicorn she was still petting, who had a blessed out look on his face. "He's all sparkly."

Steve hadn't been able to stop the laughter that burst out of him at that. He had caught an angry rant about sparkling like one of those terrible Twilight vampires before as he stroke Danny's head, fingers brushing the long horn rising from his partners forehead. Danny had been so pissed off about even the thought of being compared to, in his mind, the worst characters from the world's worst novel series. Steve hadn't understood it, as he was not a teenaged girl, and had resorted to asking Kono and his sister Mary, who both agreed with Danny that the series was bad enough to make your brain bleed out your ears if you read more than one page of it.

Still, Steve enjoyed teasing Danny about how he sparkled in the moonlight or in the daylight as well, although he did not sparkle as brightly in the day. "Why don't you come out of the water and you can brush his hair? I bet Kono can help you find some ribbons or something?"

"Okay!" Grace handed her doll off to Chin, who was watching amusedly from beside her, and talk out of the water to where Kono was standing beside Steve.

Danny trotted out of the water behind her, continually leaning his head down to nibble at her pigtails. Grace giggled again and tugged one of her pigtails out of his mouth. "Bad, Danno. Don't eat my hair or I'll tell Mommy."

Danny made what sounded almost like a whine and reached out to nuzzle her cheek with the soft skin of his nose and lips. Seeing her laughing again and swept back in to tug gently at her pigtails, starting the whole thing over again. Kono smiled and handed her phone off to Steve with a whispered comment to make sure to record all the good stuff.

The rest of the days passed almost too quickly for Steve. It felt nice having all of his Ohana at his home, laughing and playing about on the beach while he cooked up some food. Chin had taken over camera duty, this time with an actual video camera, and was currently recording Kono and Grace's latest attempt to braid ribbons into Danny's mane and tail. They had tried to use a curling iron Mary had left on her last visit around lunch time, but Danno hadn't seemed too keen on that. In the end they had used their virgin charms on him to subdue him long enough to curl his mane. Steve had caught that incident on camera as well as the aftermath where Danno had woken up, realized he had been tricked and immediately went to roll around in the ocean to try and rid himself of the curls.

The sight of a large sparkly unicorn on it's back rolling around in the waves had been enough to make him fall down laughing, mostly because he was trying very hard not to think about what a naked human Danny would have looked like doing that.

Shaking his head and sharing a look with Chin, Steve dished up some hamburgers onto a plate beside some mac salad and jello. Picking up the two plates he carried them off the lanai and walked over to Kono and Grace, interrupting their fun.

"Hey, girls, time to stop for a bite to eat."

"What about Danno," asked Grace.

"Don't worry, Gracie. I'll get him some oats and apple slices that he can munch on." Steve smiled and handed the plate over to Grace who happily took a large bite out of the hamburger.

"Thanks, Uncle Steve!"

"Not, bad, Brah." Kono scooped up some of the mac salad and piled it onto her burger. "This looks pretty good."

"Thanks. I have to keep you girls fed and happy, don't I."

"Yep," Grace chimed in as Kono smirked.

"Lookin' mighty fine there, Danno." Steve smirked at the disgruntled look Danny shot him before turning his back to Steve and leaning lightly against his daughter's side.

"He does, doesn't he? Grace is pretty good with those ribbons. I'm thinking," Kono shared an evil look with Steve, "that Danny deserves his own Facebook page. Unicorn Danno on Facebook."

Danny made a strange noise that Steve couldn't quite place and struggled to his feet. For a moment Steve was sure that Danny might charge Kono. But Danny just glared and walked off to stand by Chin, nibbling at his dark curls. Kono chuckled and took her cell phone back from Steve, showing Grace some pictures they had take two days prior when Danny had gotten lose and wandered all the way to the 'Iolani Palace, where they had found him munching on some flowers, with a lei around his neck as a family of tourists took pictures with him. That had been an interesting day for Five-0 and Steve had not enjoyed explaining to the Governor that the second in command of her task force had been cursed by a being from Hawaiian mythology to turn into a unicorn for an unknown length of time.

Grace seemed to have loved the photos Kono had collected and had spent nearly ten minutes begging her to make copies for her so that she could send them to her cousin in New Jersey and to show the girls at school that she had met a real unicorn. Kono had of course agreed easily as she knew just how much that would embarrass Danny. Kono wouldn't be mean about it, but it was obvious that she was going to have as much fun as possible with the whole incident.

A few hours later and Kono and Chin had headed home and Steve had gone inside with Grace to watch Finding Nemo. Danny was still outside munching on some plants and Steve knew he would have to get up soon to take him inside to prevent yet another unplanned excursion on Danny's part. It was just so comfortable cuddle up under a blanket with Grace curled into his side. He didn't want to get up and ruin this moment.

- - - H50 - - -

Waihee Valley National Park, Oahu

It had become dark out by the time Danny had finished eating his fill of the flowers and grasses in Steve's yard. He had realized quickly that Steve and Grace had gone inside and were likely asleep and Danny couldn't help but feel a bit sad that Steve hadn't come out to put him to bed in the garage as he had the last few nights. He had enjoyed the closeness and sense of affection that had come with Steve brushing him down and tossing one of his old Navy blankets over him. Danny had loved having the scent of Steve lingering all over him while he was stuck in the garage. Now he had been left outside on his own and Danny couldn't help but feel a little sad. He was sure that Steve hadn't meant to forget him, had probably fallen into an exhausted slumber watching a movie with Grace since Danny wasn't in there to remind them both to head to bed when they started to nod off. Still it hurt and Danny had never felt as alone as he did in that moment.

Taking one last glance at the house he had turned and walked out of the yard and back to the street. Without Steve or his scent around the call of the forest was too strong to ignore any longer. He had to leave, to go back to the forest and to the spring of the mo'o wahine. He couldn't stay here any longer pretending that things might work out, that he might just wake up one day and be human again. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the instincts o f the unicorn he had become and every day was a struggle to remember who he really was. Who he had been and who he had wanted to become.

The walk back to the Park took hours and Danny was thankful that all the houses he passed were dark, their owners fast asleep. There was no one awake to distract him, the road belonged to him and the night birds that followed him as he passed their trees. He passed a wild boar and her babies, who stopped searching at the ground for food and looked up to watch him walk passed. He had never really seen a wild boar before but some how it wasn't that spectacular. It was just another animal watching him. He doubted he would ever be as impressed by an animal as he used to be after having been turned into a unicorn. But he could be wrong.

"Welcome back, kaina."

Danny blinked at the sound of that familiar voice. He hadn't even realized that he had reached the Park, let alone the spring. "Yeah…"

"You are unhappy, kaina?"

"You think? Yeah I'm unhappy." Danny scowled as best he could as the water spirit through a face not designed for such an emotion. "I'm stuck in this body, as a damned animal! I want to be human again!"

The mo'o wahine rose a little higher out of the water, her head cocked to one side as she watched him. "You are sure?"

"I can't take living like this. I would rather die than be stuck like this. I can't take not being able to hold my little girl, or being able to read her a bedtime story, or to hold hands with the man I love. I can't…" Danny felt his head drop as the weight of it all pressed down on him.

"Poor child, little kaina." Danny kept his eyes closed as he felt the cool watery hands of the mo'o wahine caress his cheeks. "Such pain. Let me take it from you."

Not having the strength to fight Danny let her guide him into the water, deeper and deeper until the water rose over his head and filled his nostrils.

- - - H50 - - -

Steve's House, Oahu

Steve didn't know what woke him up, but he woke up and knew something was very, very wrong. Looking down at Grace who was still cuddled into his chest, Steve noted the TV was still on the repeat cycle for the DVD they had been watching and out the window the sky was dark. Night had long since fallen. Everything should be fine, but still that ach in his chest pressed in on him, telling him that he was wrong. Something bad was happening or was going to happen.

Carefully scooting out from under Grace, he gently lowered her down onto the cousin he had been sitting on and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. Walking towards the door as quietly as possible he looked out into his yard, searching for anything that might have triggered this feeling of doom. There was nothing. The night was still and fairly quiet save for the sound of the waves lapping at the beach. It was a peaceful, quiet night. Too quiet.

Suddenly anxious Steve opened the door and stepped out onto the lanai. Danny. Where was Danny? He wasn't outside? Had he remembered to put Danny into the garage? Steve couldn't remember.

Quickly going back inside, he closed the door and locked it, quietly passing Grace who was still fast asleep on the couch, and made his way to the garage. Easing the garage door open, Steve stepped into the dark room, immediately worried by the lack of white shimmer that came from Danny hide.

He wasn't here. Danny was gone!

Fumbling for the cell phone in his cargo pockets, Steve speed dialed Chin. The phone rang for what felt like forever and Steve couldn't stop pacing the confines of the room.

"Steve," came the sleep heavy voice over the line.

"Danny's gone."

"What?" Steve felt his breathing spike before he could get it back under control. Over the line he could hear the sound of Chin moving around on his bed. "Steve, what's going on?"

"Grace and I watched a movie and we must have fallen asleep. I woke up and Danny was gone."

"Someone broke into the garage," asked Chin in a worried voice.

"No. I forgot to lead him back to the garage." Steve pressed one hand against his forehead. "I need to find him."

"Okay, calm down. I'll call Kono to come watch Grace and you and I can head to HQ and try out the tracking system I set up."

"Tracking system," Steve asked confused.

"Yeah. He kept wandering off so I set up a small GPS tracker that I gave to Kono. She wove it into his mane today before we left. Unless he decided to roll in the waves again it should be online."

"…You put a tracker on Danny?"

Chin sighed and Steve could hear him set the phone down before more sound of rustling fabric could be heard. A moment later he had picked up the phone again, "I'm hanging up now Steve. Call Kono to meet at your place and I'll head over to HQ. Meet me there with the trailer and we'll go get Danny."

Twenty minutes later Kono was pulling up to the house as he finished getting the trailer reattached to his truck. Kono waved at him as she hoped out of her car. "He did a runner again?"

"Yeah. Chin and I are gonna get him, so I need you to stay with Grace. She's knocked out on the couch. If you can get her moved to the bed in Mary's old room. It should have her pajamas in there already."

"Can do, boss. Go bring Danny home." Kono gave him a smile and patted his shoulder before walking inside.

Steve looked away and finished locking on the trailer. Standing he dusted his hands off against his cargos and moved to get in the cab of his truck. He backs out of the drive and heads to the 'Iolani Palace on autopilot, his mind a thousands miles away. He's been getting more and more worried about how Danny seemed to be acting more and more like an animal and less like the man he knew. He was starting to have nightmares about Danny never changing back, or hunters killing him before Steve can find him again after one of his walkabouts. It scares him how much Danny can make him feel. How vulnerable Danny makes him.

The shrill sound of his cell going off is shocking in the silence of the truck. Blinding reaching for it he answers, expecting it to be Kono or Chin and not at all surprised when it is Chin. "You've got something?"

"Yeah. The tracker shows him at Waihee Valley National Park. One guess as to where in the park."

"Shit!" Steve jerks the wheel turning down a different street at the last minute heading away from Chin and the Palace.

"I'll meet you there. Don't kill yourself before we get to Danny." Chin clicks the phone off and Steve knows the older man is already running out of the office and to his motorcycle. The Gods only know what Danny is doing at the park and Steve can't help the shiver as a cold feeling of dread clenches around his heart.

The park when he finally gets there is full of the normal night noises he remembered from times long past where his dad and him would spends weekends out camping and hiking. They were good memories, some of the few he had left of his dad. But right now they were swamped under the fear that was filling him. He didn't know why Danny had left, if he had finally lost the last of his human mind, or if he had just become so depressed that he fled from the people he loved, or if…No, Steve wouldn't think of the other option. The option that woke him at night in a cold sweat, his heart near pounding out of his chest.

Thrusting the door open he near fell out in his rush to find Danny, not even thinking to close the door as he ran into the park. Distantly he was aware of the sound of Chin's bike coming to a stop in the parking lot behind him. He could hear Chin tossing his helmet aside, the sharp sound of it striking the metal of the bike and rolling across the gravel even as Chin's boots thunked heavy behind Steve's own. They were running in blind and if Danny had been there at his side where he was supposed to be he would be berating Steve for not taking precaution. They didn't know what was waiting up at the spring. It could be anything from a hunter, a lost child to a pissed of mo'o wahine waiting to drown them all.

"Almost there. Almost there. Wait for me, Danny." His breath hurt as he pushed himself to run faster and further than was probably safe, but he had to get there. He had to find Danny and get him safely back in his arms, even if he could only hold him as an animal.

Ahead of them the sound of the waterfall could be heard, slowly getting louder until Steve thought it would deafen him. Gasping, his legs shaking Steve stumbled to a stop at the waters edge. Almost the same spot he had been in when Danny had been pulled under near three weeks ago. Their sudden entrance startled a flock of birds that let out a wild racket of noise as they flew off further into the park. The edges of his vision blackened and for a moment he thought he might pass out, his heart felt as if it was beating like hummingbird wings in his chest.

The water in front of him was still and smooth as glass. Danny wasn't there.

A keening cry slipping passed his lips, Steve felt his legs give out. Chin was gasping for breath beside him, staring into the dark of the lake a lost look on his face. They were too late.