I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: Happy Birthday My Queen - I hope your birthday wish for a birthday FF met expectations. I love that so many readers enjoyed this story, too!

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Birthday Wishes - chapter four

"You don't look very sick," Danny bluntly stated. "But at least you are home." He was standing on Steve's front step, arms laden with supplies he determined were needed to cure his ailing friend. However, while it was true that Steve was a bare-foot, rumpled, bleary-eyed mess and could barely focus as he cringed against the bright Hawaiian sunshine, he didn't look precisely ill.

"Of course I'm home; I said I would be." Steve cleared his throat, a hand waving weakly between the two of them. He blinked, muzzy-headed and confused. He'd slept much longer than he'd wanted based on the bright afternoon light streaming in through the front door. He winced at himself for daring to ask the most obvious of all questions which immediately rankled his partner. "Why are you here?"

"Why am I here? First, you - of all people in this universe - called in sick," Danny replied, both arms stopped from spreading wide to make his incredulous declaration known only by the large brown bag he cradled to his chest. He inhaled deeply, the next comments spilling from his mouth nearly all in one long breath.

"Secondly, because you didn't call. You didn't call me to be clear about things … and then, when I tried to call you ... you didn't answer your cell phone. Third, I figured you probably shot your own damned foot off and were bleeding to death on the kitchen floor." Through a steady glare, Danny leveled his own challenge at his partner as he shifted the shopping bag to the crook of one arm. Then, he very slowly held up four fingers to Steve's face. Waving all four like a banner, he set his jaw firmly when Steve outwardly cringed at what was to come.

"Last but not least, you called in sick on my birthday. So, I figured if you didn't hurt yourself, then surely you must really be dying of some godforsaken illness. So, Steven, all of these reasons are why I'm here." With that snarky comment left to linger, Danny brushed by Steve to leave him standing alone.

"Oh boy," Steve sighed out quietly as he forced himself to wake up faster. "Here we go." He dragged his hands over his face and scowled while he followed Danny into the living room, entirely confused by the contents of the bag which Danny was now pulling out one by one. Big boxes, small boxes, bottles and a box of tissues were eventually lined up along this coffee table.

"What is all that?" Steve asked warily as he spied a bottle of cough medicine, at least two brands of decongestants, then what looked like an all-purpose flu medication. And god help him, a bottle with a nasty pink liquid that horrifyingly looked like something to treat constipation. But on its heels was a product for the exact opposite physical problem and Steve blanched at the startling array of supplies. "Danny, what are you doing ... and ... what is that ... for?"

"Sit," Danny demanded as he grabbed Steve's arm and pushed him into the sofa. He pursed his lips thoughtfully at the sight of mussed pillows and a spare blanket which his partner had obviously been wrapped up in before his unannounced arrival. Only partly convinced that Steve was sick and wondering how foolish he'd look for buying half a pharmacy, now Danny's mind was made up.

"Danny, …?" Steve started to talk, but was stopped by the rude placement of a thermometer directly into his mouth. "Hey!"

"Don't speak!" Danny glared at him, turning only to pull out the rest of what he'd bought at the store. Orange juice, ginger ale, crackers, cans of chicken noodle soup, and plain broth were soon neatly lined up next to what amounted to an obscenely worrisome volume of drugs.

"Danny," Steve began his mumble, the thermometer nearly falling from his lips. He caught it in his fingers at the last minute only to have his hand slapped away as Danny put it back where it had been. His lips parted in shock, a need to confess right there - the truth literally hanging in the air - when Danny tsked at him loudly.

"Shhh!" Danny hissed, tapping his watch to continue timing the taking of his temperature. "Thirty seconds!" With a disgusted sigh as the time came due, he practically yanked the thermometer from Steve's mouth, eyes squinting as he tried to get a good read on the level of mercury.

"Damn thing doesn't work," he complained when he saw it registered a normal reading. "Open up, we're doing it again."

"Danno!" Steve almost yelped as the tip of the thermometer snagged his tongue. His eyes grew in size as he stared up at his apparently very aggravated partner. He couldn't help but wonder if poor Grace had been subjected to such treatment. But of course that never could be the case because Danny's daughter would never ... ever ... think of ditching her father on his birthday.

"Shut. Up. You." Danny exclaimed, his finger poking Steve in the shoulder as he enunciated each word. "We have to do it again because you screwed it up the first time! But, if it still doesn't work, don't worry because I have a backup."

With his mouth occupied, Steve hummed a nonsensical tune which clearly translated to what is that! as Danny brandished a large white and blue box under his nose. Stunned by the appearance of a Thermoscan Ear Thermometer, Steve leaned back into the sofa, eyebrows raised comically and utterly giving in now to Danny's diabolical need to ensure he was:

A. either sick, or B. totally shamming.

"Just so you know … this baby can be used in more places than just your ear," Danny smirked meaningfully as he unpacked the digital thermometer, his eyes gleaming as Steve's eyebrows disappeared completely into the furrows of his forehead. "And before you ask, the batteries are already installed, so it's ready to go. The pharmacist said it had ExacTemp Technology … can't go wrong!" He chuckled as Steve fidgeted uncomfortably into the cushions of the sofa, his arms crossed belligerently and very protectively over his chest.

Beginning to wonder if he'd ever survive the wrath of Danny Williams - or even the benevolent nursemaid which was evidently housed inside the man - Steve chuffed a disgusted sound under his breath. There was zero chance his partner would be able to touch him with what he was unwrapping now. But as Danny stayed distracted, Steve's fingers began a spider-creep along the sofa to snag his cell phone. With one finger, he found the camera app and got off three shots of Danny while he busily checked the time again.

Without thinking, Steve grinned as Danny yanked the manual thermometer from his mouth for the second time. Obviously, his temperature was indeed going to be quite normal as confirmed by the almost crestfallen look now gracing his partner's face. But his grin fled quickly as Danny whipped out the digital version like a weapon and aimed for his ear.

"Oh hell no!" Steve yelled in objection, his free hand batting Danny's away as he was hemmed in to his own sofa with no room for escape. There were certain lines he was going draw as Danny cocked his head in warning. "Back off! I'm fine ... I'm okay!"

"No, you're obviously sick," Danny argued, wholly convinced by the relative condition of the sofa and the obvious fact that Steve truly had been napping when he'd arrived. His partner was disheveled and certainly hadn't budged from his house for the entire day. Danny made a disagreeable face as he dropped his hand, squinting in worry as he tried to gauge Steve's expression.

"Stomach then? Were you sick sick ... I have things for that too."

Steve wilted entirely. He didn't know what to make of the walking, talking whirlwind of sarcastic concern which was now standing over him. Hands on hips and not knowing where to land, Danny finally ran out of words and sighed dramatically.

"What is it then?" Danny mumbled, his face running through every emotion imaginable.

"Happy Birthday," Steve whispered cautiously, a tiny smile flitting across his lips as he took an incredibly fast picture of Danny's expression, the man suddenly almost apoplectic at the move.

"What was that for!?" Danny barked, nearly dropping the digital thermometer as he backpedaled. "Happy Birthday? Happy Birthday? And then you take my picture? Just like that when I wasn't even ready?! Did you hit your head and not tell anyone?"

"Hang on," Steve insisted. He reached up then, snagged Danny's arms and traded places with him in one smooth motion. Danny tripped over his own two feet and wound up landing precisely where he'd just been sitting, as his mouth gaped open.

"Now, you stay," Steve demanded, his own finger waggling in warning to prevent Danny from budging a single inch.

Steve practically jogged into his kitchen. He'd gotten the chocolate frosting done in record time and an incredibly helpful YouTube video - which he wished he'd found in the first place - had provided the directions on how to make the prettiest of chocolate swirls and rosettes. He'd managed to make each one with an expert flare after some test runs using the most simple of tools: a small resealable plastic baggie with one bottom edge snipped off.

He'd finished the cake without issue and, figuring he had enough time left in the morning, had decided to take another nap with plans to show up at the restaurant for Danny's birthday lunch with Chin and Kono. But he'd overslept - badly - and the cake was still sitting right there in his house. He smiled proudly as he pulled Danny's birthday cake out from the refrigerator. He'd found a little used but ornate glass cake dish, cover and all. Now inside its place of honor, the finished product was indeed a study in perfection.

"Close your eyes!" Steve bellowed, peeking around the corner to make sure Danny hadn't moved. In his pocket, he had candles and matches ready to go. Things he'd also intended for the restaurant, but now was as good a time as any. "Close 'em, Danno!"

"Close 'em, Danno?" Danny groused back, arms now folded over his chest. "What - is that some sort of stupid new thing? Close 'em, Danno? Are you going to shoot me now, too?"

Danny scrunched up his face as he debated disobeying. Happy Birthday? Just like that along with the stupidest of pictures? He managed to squint with his eyes closed as he pondered this sudden change of events. Steve hadn't been sick after all, but something was indeed up. Something very intriguing, and so Danny did as he was told. He kept his eyes closed, stayed seated where he'd been dumped and even stayed relatively quiet when he sensed Steve's return.

"One second," Steve begged, the smile so evident in his voice that Danny had to allow one side of his mouth the courtesy of a happier tilt upwards. "No matter what happens next, keep your eyes closed!"

On the heels of his request, Steve pushed aside the array of medicines to slide the cake dish on the coffee table and coyly removed the glass cover. The smell of rich chocolate immediately wafted out and he snapped another picture as Danny reacted with a deep appreciative inhale. With no time to spare, Steve stuck a few candles in the cake's top and quickly lit them.

"Now," Steve said with a grand flourish as he took one step back from the best cake ever made within the four walls of his own home. "Now look! Happy Birthday, buddy!"

Danny's eyes sprung open the moment he was given the go-ahead. His astonishment was genuine as he stared in awe at his birthday cake, his eyes shining as brightly as the candles.

"You made me a cake?" Danny asked, dumbfounded by the sight. He blinked in confusion, slowly coming to the realization that Steve had called in sick because of what was sitting directly in front of him. Two layers of gooey chocolate and colorful sprinkles, topped with expertly twirled chocolate rosettes. Danny knew what he was looking at, and he knew that the cake must have taken Steve hours to perfect

"You baked me a cake from scratch? It's ... fantastic. This ... this is absolutely ... amazing."

He ignored the flurry of pictures which Steve saw fit to rapid-fire from his cell phone. Each image better than the next as Danny's face morphed to settle on the goofiest, happiest face-splitting smile which Steve had ever been graced with.

"Happy Birthday, Danny," Steve repeated, beyond pleased by his friend's genuine reaction. For all intents and purposes, Danny was ... radiant and Steve blinked at the transformation, stammering over his explanation of what he'd managed to create.

"It's all chocolate - white and milk with brownies for the cake part. I wanted ... well, I thought you might like it. You know what I mean. I meant to get it to the office ... or even the restaurant ... but I ran out of time. Then, I fell asleep ... and well ... here we are."

"It's ... I ... wow," Danny whispered. He stared at it, smiling in wonder and understanding that Steve had been up virtually the entire night trying to get it done. "You baked me a birthday cake," he repeated, the tone of his voice clearly communicating his ongoing delight around a smile which refused to quit.

"Huh," Steve smirked, his hands perched on his hips. "I never thought I'd see the day a Williams ran out of words. But you know, buddy, you better make a wish and blow those candles out before we have a bonfire."

Danny blinked wildly for a moment as he sidled to the edge of the sofa. He was beaming, but his eyes were full of tears. He couldn't find the right words to say; or any words at all for that matter and wishes seemed elusive as his brain short-circuited.

He glanced up at Steve and studied him for a long moment. He chuffed a sound that once more relayed his astonishment. "This is seriously the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me," Danny shared softly. Gifts could be bought and wonderful presents could be given. Birthday cakes could be ordered and be just as beautiful. But taking the time to really create something with such personal care was simply ... special. He felt the same way about each and every handmade card his daughter had ever crayoned for him. Now, Danny had this amazing birthday cake from Steve.

"It's beautiful," Danny whispered. He leaned forward and hesitated again as if thinking deeply before blowing the candles out. He met Steve's eyes, grinning widely at seeing Steve's own delight. "Hey. Seriously, thank you."

Danny struggled to his feet, rounding on Steve to do the only thing he could think of next and Steve already had his arms out. "You're welcome, Danno," Steve said happily as Danny enveloped him in the one and only Danny Williams hug; a warm gesture that bespoke of wholeness and family.

"Steve?" Danny murmured softly into his chest, his voice muffled by Steve's shirt.

"Yeah, Danno?" Steve asked innocently.

"You're forgiven ... this time."

~ END ~