Because You're Always Right (Part 4: Cold As Ice)

Notes: Ahh! So glad you all enjoyed the last chapter. It's always a trick to find that balance of good whump without going overboard. (Erm…no pun intended.) We've got lots more ideas for the boys, so hang on to your hats. (Or your ties.) Enjoy!


Steve had his feet propped up on his desk and was scrolling through files related to Victor Hesse's history when the Governor's call came in. Her office had received an anonymous tip-off that Nicholas Rankin had been spotted on the island. He was wanted for three counts of murder in the state of California but had eluded capture. It was suspected that he was in Hawaii to rendezvous with his girlfriend before escaping overseas. There were two possible locations for the rendezvous: a meatpacking plant near a small private airport and a motel closer to a shipping yard.

"We're on it, Governor." Steve assured her.

He stood and headed towards his door when he caught sight of Danny through the window. He was so surprised he missed the door completely and walked into the wall next to it. Danny looked up at the soft thumping sound and narrowed his eyes in confusion as Steve backed up and opened the door to join him in the hallway.

"What is the matter with you?" Danny asked.

Steve stared at him. "What are you wearing?" he asked, sounding as surprised as he looked.

Danny shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't expect to be coming in this morning, being Sunday, but I dropped by to grab some paperwork to look over this afternoon and..." He stopped his ramble, taking a deep breath. "I got tired of you griping about my clothes all the time," he grumbled, never quite meeting Steve's eyes.

The taller man bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Danny was dressed in cargo shorts and t-shirt. No tie. Flip-flop sandals. Someone might actually mistake him for someone who wanted to be there if he'd just keep his mouth shut.

"Yeah, laugh it up. Go on."

"Well, we are working today," Steve chuckled, a grin finally tugging at his lips. "We just got a tip off on the whereabouts of Nicholas Rankin."

"Yeah? Where're we heading?"

"We're heading down to meat packing plant, and I'll send Chin and Kono over to the motel."

Steve handed Danny the printout of Rankin's information he grabbed from the printer on their way out. Danny flipped through it, frowning at the information as they got in the Camaro and headed towards the plant.

"One of the men he's suspected of killing is law enforcement." he said.

"Yeah. One of the reasons they'd like to have him back so badly." Steve said.

"Who are these other two guys he killed?" Danny asked.

Steve glanced over at him. "Business partners."

Danny made a face. "A real nice guy, huh? The kind you'd like to have over for poker night."

"Only if you've hired him to off one of the other guys at poker night." Steve replied.

"Seriously, a meat plant, though? Hotel…meat plant." Danny weighed both options sarcastically. "Because every woman wants to have a romantic rendezvous in a meat plant."

"Is that what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"With Rachel?"

"Damn it, Steve, just don't even go there." The blond sulked a moment and then chanced a glance at his partner. "You're in an abnormally good mood. It's a little scary. I keep expecting something to explode."

Steve grinned. "No explosions today. I promise."

"Oh, that's very reassuring. That gives me the same warm fuzzy feeling I got when Rachel told me our separation would be temporary." Danny grumbled.

"Your tone of voice indicates that you did not actually have a warm fuzzy feeling when she told you that." Steve said.

Danny gave him an evil glare. "I'm glad to see your capacity for understanding sarcasm hasn't diminished since the last time I saw you."

"Since yesterday? No."

"Would it be too much to hope for that you gained some sense of self preservation?" Danny asked.

Steve just smiled at him.

"Never mind. You are the proverbial bull in the china shop of life, you know that, right?"

That earned him a bigger smile.

"And mine, but default," he grumbled when he received no verbal response from his partner.

They reached the meat shop moments later. It was shut down for the weekend, but Steve assured Danny they had the appropriate warrant for the search. They slipped their vests on and checked their guns. With everything set they started around the parameter, finding the back door forced open and the lock lying on the ground.

"Guess this suite didn't come with a swipe card." Danny said.

"They probably weren't expecting housekeeping." Steve murmured.

He crouched and Danny followed suite, Steve counting to three before the two of them slipped inside. Steve came up high and Danny low, neither of them winding up with a target. The inside of the plant was dim, silent, and much cooler than outside due to the large freezer units towards the back of the building. .The packing lines jutted across the interior, creating a frightening labyrinth of creaky metal. Steve motioned to his right and Danny nodded. They would split up and inside parameter around and work their way back through the middle.

Thoughts of every horror movie he'd ever seen filled Danny's head as he made his way further and further around the parameter. Nothing was jumping out to get them, none of the machinery was turning on of its own accord, and no maniac cackling could be heard, but all that made him all the more nervous somehow. Something wasn't right. Rankin was supposed to be very bright, hence the reason he'd avoided law enforcement so long. Viscous and brilliant. He shouldn't have left the door ajar the way it had been. The thought had just made its way through his brain when Danny felt a jolt and everything went black.

Steve reached the end of the building without encountering any trace of Rankin or his girlfriend. He checked his watch and glanced around the corner of the machine he was taking cover behind, checking for any sign of Danny. He frowned when the minutes ticked by and there was still no sign of his partner. Steve scooted across the open space towards the other end of the building. If he'd missed Danny, he'd catch up to him somewhere in the middle, or if something had happened to him he'd find him on the other side. He was beginning to think it was too quiet when he got all the way to the other side near the freezers and still had found nothing. No girlfriend, no Rankin, and worst of all, no Danny.

Cool air hit him from one of the freezers that was left partially opened and he approached it slowly, cautiously, with every fiber in him screaming that it was a trap. Trap or no trap, he had to find Danny as well as Rankin. After looking around he pulled the door open the rest of the way, peering in. The cold hit him full force and he glanced inside. A single bulb was lit in the center of the fairly small room. It swung ever so slightly as if someone had just tugged the chord to turn it on. Just below lay a very still Danny, eyes closed. Steve shoved his screaming instincts down as he approached the blond, something akin to worry gripping at him.

He was so focused on his partner being so unnaturally still that he didn't hear the footstep behind him until it was too late. The heavy freezer door slammed shut just as Steve reached it and he slammed his fist against it.

"Rankin!" he barked. "Open this door right now! Rankin!"

There was no response from the other side, and the door was too thick for Steve to hear whether or not the man had walked away. He cursed softly and checked his phone. No service. Pocketing his phone and holstering his weapon, he returned to his partner.

"Danny?" he asked quietly. He slipped his fingers across his neck to the pulse point

The blond let out a low groan at the pressure and his eyes fluttered open. He blinked several times, seemingly trying to get his bearings, before a shudder ran through him and his body began to tremble.

"Don't t-tell me we're l-locked in a freakin' freezer," he growled out, irritation dripping off of every word.

"I'm afraid so. It would seem that someone got overpowered and used as bait giving our perp the opportunity to slam the door shut." Steve said. He glanced Danny over to check for visible wounds, and saw the two small puncture wounds in his chest. He frowned. "Tasered, huh? Lucky for you Rankin doesn't like to get his hands dirty. Does it hurt?"

"Of course it hurts!" the other hissed. "When we get out of here I'll taser you and you'll see if it hurts."

Steve resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he stood, moving back to the door. His hands were working their way into every possible crevice in the metal, hoping to find a way out.

"It's your fault, you know," Danny muttered from behind him, standing as well.

Steve briefly shot him a look over his shoulder but continued his search for a weak point in the door. "Oh, really? How do you figure it's my fault we're stuck in here? It wasn't even Rankin that got you, was it? Did his girlfriend taser you?"

"You should have seen it was a trap! How obvious can a trap be? They might as well have stuck a sign on me that said dear Steve McGarrett here is a trap please join us!" Danny exclaimed, rubbing his arms in an attempt to eradicate the goosebumps.

Steve abandoned the door and turned around. "Excuse me for being momentarily concerned for your well being. You haven't answered my question about the girlfriend. Was she pretty?"

"It wasn't the girlfriend," Danny growled.

"How do you know? Did you even see who tasered you, Danny?"

The blond man shot him a dark look. "You're not going to find anything."

"Oh, so in Jersey did you get locked in meat freezers often?"

"Oh yeah. Every freakin' day of my life. No, the weird shit started once I came to this hell hole and got dragged into this partnership. Like I said. Your fault. Nothing like this ever happened before you came along."

A flicker of hurt crossed Steve's face before he could turn around and face the door again. "Well I'll just find a way out of here for you and let you get back to that beautiful idyllic life along the Jersey shore, then." He said stiffly. He tried squeezing his fingers into the tiny space where the door met the frame, but it was as snug and secure as could be. He checked his phone again for good measure and still found no service available. If Chin and Kono found nothing at the hotel and figured out that they weren't checking in, they would probably come looking for them.

Eventually.

He glanced back at Danny, who was standing in the same place that he'd been sitting moments before, quickly rubbing his arms and trying to retain some heat. He felt a shudder of cold shake his own frame and he leaned against the door, instantly regretting it as the bitter cold bit through his t-shirt.

"How long you think before Chin and Kono figure out we're missing?" Danny asked, plopping back down to the floor and pulling his knees up to his chest. He looked up to his partner, surprised when an answer was immediate.

"Maybe an hour, depending if they find anything or not," Steve answered at last.

"And how long do we have before we're human popsicles?" Danny asked.

Steve shrugged and began wandering their small area, looking for anything to pry into the door.

"Maybe forty-five minutes or an hour. Maybe longer if you keep talking and filling the space with hot air." Steve found nothing useful and sighed, resigning himself to the wait. He sat down ten or so feet away from Danny and drew up his own knees.

"Of all the days."

Steve glanced over at his partner, the question obvious.

Danny frowned. "Of all the days I had to take your stupid advice on clothes."

"Really? I'm getting blamed for that too?"

"Might as well."

"I have a news flash for you, Danno. You're tie isn't thermal and it wouldn't have helped you here."

Danny glared again and huffed, folding his arms against his knees and burying his face in them. He was cold and irritable and really hadn't meant to be at work at all that day. It just seemed to be a running theme: if Steve was around, he was bound to get into some sort of trouble. It wasn't that Steve specifically set out to throw them into dangerous positions, he knew, but somehow he always seemed to be the one landing the worst of it. He sighed heavily and glanced up when he heard his partner shifting. He jumped slightly when he found Steve directly next to him. Damn ninja.

"I'm still pissed," Danny grumbled and the two leaned in together trying to gain as much heat as they could from the other.

"And I swear, Steve, if this whole ordeal gets out and becomes something else for you to make fun of me for..."

Dark blue eyes shifted into a half glare. "Goes both ways."

"So we're clear."

"Crystal."

They couldn't scoot much closer without piling into each other's laps.

Danny shivered miserably and tried to tuck himself against Steve as close as he could. "This is just freakin' fantastic. I'm going to freeze to death in the middle of one hundred and ten degree weather Hawaii, land of one endless sand trap and every violent criminal known to mankind who all happen to come after you. Why can't they do something more constructive with their time?" Danny grumbled.

"Like be productive citizens?" Steve asked, shifting to wrap his arms around his partner.

Danny curled into the additional warmth like a cat clinging to the last patch of sunlight on a kitchen floor. "No! Like rob stupid Stan or rope him into a fraud scheme so I could arrest his stupid ass. Then maybe I could get more time with Gracie. Although it would be hard to do that even if Rachel would allow it because I have to work and if she's gone and I have to work -or get trapped in a freezer for an afternoon- I don't even know anyone I could trust enough to watch her for a couple of hours."

"I'd watch her for you," Steve offered through chattering teeth.

Danny sniffed against the cold and his partner wasn't sure if that was a cough or a laugh that left his throat. "Two problems with that. One, we're usually in trouble together. Two, I wouldn't trust you to watch her. You'd warp her or something."

"I watched her once before," Steve countered.

"When did you ever watch my daughter?"

Steve tensed and Danny wished he could see the other's face but he wasn't willing to move. "What? When did you watch her?" "You know. That time the Murphy's. I took Gracie to the hospital. We... uh...bonded. I'm Uncle Steve, you know."

Any color that might have been left in Danny's face drained. "Uncle Steve?" he echoed.

Steve gave the barest of shrugs. "You didn't seem to have a problem with it then."

"I don't remember that. You're not Uncle Steve. That's creepy."

"Chin gets to be Uncle Chin."

"Chin is different. He's...less of a human death trap." Danny protested.

"I only thought it was creepy when you called me Uncle Steve." Steve mumbled.

Danny made a choking sound and briefly weighed moving away to the shock of new cold that would accompany it.

"What the hell?" he demanded instead. "I never called you that."

"Yes you did. In the hospital."

"I didn't even know Grace called you that until just now! How could I have called you that?"

"Could have been the cocktail of painkillers they had you on, Danno," Steve chuckled.

"I plead the fifth." Danny said with a sigh.

They fell silent, Danny noticing how badly Steve was starting to shiver.

"Hey." Steve mumbled against his shoulder.

"What?" Danny asked.

"Can I ask you something?"

"No. I'm busy right now." Danny waited, but Steve said nothing. "Well?"

"You said you were busy."

"I hate you so much.

"Can you hold me?"

"What?"

"I can't feel my left arm anymore."

"No. No, no, and furthermore no."

"I've been holding you," Steve argued drowsily.

Danny risked a glance at his partner and saw how white his face had gotten against his dark hair and he briefly wondered if he looked as bad. "Damn it, Steve," he grumbled, squirming out from under the other's arm and wrapping his own around Steve's shoulder, pulling him in. "This never happened."

He tugged Steve closer so the man was practically hugging Danny's knees and Danny curled around him as best he could. Absently he rubbed Steve's arm.

"Stay awake, okay? Chin and Kono have got to find us soon. A crazy guy like you needs all his fingers and toes to keep your balance when you jump onto boats and out of fast moving objects and climbs mountains in two leaps."

"Single bound."

"I don't need your ego that big, Superman. Two leaps. No single bounds for you."

Steve chuckled. They were silent for several long moments before Danny perked.

"Did you hear that?" he murmured, looking towards the door.

"Hmm?"

"I could have sworn... Hang on." Danny unfolded and stood very slowly, stiffly and moved towards the door. "Chin?" he yelled at the door. "Chin!"

Very faintly they could hear Chin calling Danny's name from the other side of the door. Danny cheered. "Steve! Steve, come on." The blonde ran back to his partner and his hands under Steve's arms, hauling him up. Steve protested half-heartedly but allowed Danny to help him up. "Chin! Get us out of here!"

The door was tugged open and Danny and Steve almost ran Chin over getting out. The Hawaiian blinked in surprise. "Are you two okay?" he asked, following them as the shuffled towards the door. Danny had never been so thankful for the blazing sun or the island weather in his existence. He might never complain about Hawaii again. Or at least for a while.

Steve and Danny stood together shivering in the sunlight, both basking in the warmth.

"I want you to know," Danny said, "that I will never, never wear shorts into the office again."

Steve grinned. "What, like that could happen again?"

"Don't say that. Don't even say that. I would bang my head against a wall until I was unconscious if I ever got stuck in a freezer with you again to spare myself the agony. I hope you get sick."

"I don't get sick," Steve informed him.

"Yeah, ya know-" Danny started, but was interrupted by a sneeze. "Damn it! Your fault!"

Steve lightly punched his shoulder. "Let's go get your thermal tie, Danno. You're going to need something to wipe your nose with."

"I hate you. I hate you so much."