A/N: This is a little interlude between chapters 3 and 4. Please let me know if you enjoy. Last chapter, one of you asked if it is slash. It is pre-slash. I actually didn't realize that until I got into it. I really don't write sex, and I don't see either of them initiating anything, but I want to show the love these two guys have for one another in an emotional rather than sexual way. Sheila
The Promise
Interlude
Steve shifted against the column holding up the airport at O'Hare. He was transfixed by the scene outside. Chicago was experiencing a heavy snowfall, and he marveled at the miracle of the white stuff coming out of the sky. If he had more than an hour, he would have walked outside and stood in the middle of it, and let soft flakes fall onto his face. This was only the 3rd time he'd experienced snow. Most Seal missions had kept him near the equator.
He knew it was cold, and had listened to enough Hawaiian transplants to know that it could be miserable, but to him it seemed beautiful, ethereal even. He'd asked Danny about the snow once, but Danny had merely made a face at him, claiming that snow was gray, cold, nasty, and a pain in the posterior. He also mentioned that goddamn city trucks always plowed him in. Steve couldn't quite grasp the mechanics of such an idea and so he let it go, and he couldn't match those images with the virgin white snow falling gently against the glass.
He had to shift again, finding another spot against the column to rest his back. He had no doubt that at least 4 vertebrae were misaligned at this moment. The Navy cargo plane from Oahu had been an unholy nightmare. The plane lacked the hydraulics of a passenger jet, and then they'd hit that Pacific air mass. Steve had spent five hours being thrown about like a piñata despite being belted in.
He looked down at the phone in his hand. 13 messages. He had only 10 minutes to listen to them before the next flight, but he dreaded it. There was nothing good that could come out of 13 messages in 12 hours. Finally, he shook his head and hit the first one.
"Where the hell are you? You spend all this time talking about team and then I wake up and you're gone! 5-0 is shut down and so I don't want to hear one more goddamn fairytale out of Chin about how you're on a mission for the governor-"
Steve hit delete. Next one.
"You rotting corpse! Call me back now!-"
Delete.
"You slimy, rancid mug of pond scum! I'm sitting here worried sick out of my mind-"
Delete.
"HPD Chief of Detectives here. We got a complaint from your neighbors about a possible kidnapping or hostage situation out at your home. Could you call us and fill us in on the details?"
Steve groaned and hit delete.
"There is no mission for the governor, you giant moron! I called her. What the hell-"
Delete.
"Governor Jameson here, McGarrett. Is there a reason why your second in command, Danny Williams, would think that I sent you out on a top secret mission? He got pretty close to accusing me of lying."
Steve started banging the back of his head against the column. He stopped when he noticed he was drawing a crowd. Delete.
"Boss, don't worry about a thing. Chin and I have everything under control. SWAT's here and they've questioned Danny. There won't be any arrests. He has assured them that he is not, indeed, a hostage-"
He felt nausea rise in his gut and he quickly deleted.
"Governor Jameson again. You were supposed to be attending a legal procedures class this week. You'd better have a damn good explanation for that. And I would like to know why the hell the offices of the HPD, FBI, and SWAT have lost their mornings to disturbances at your house."
Delete. Steve struggled to settle his breathing.
"Technically, I am not being held against my will, but only technically. Where are you? You'd better call back within the next five minutes or I'm going to start taking some hostages of my own-"
Delete.
"Boss, I got permission to dose him with a shot of Demerol. Chin's up on the roof right now trying to corner him-"
Steve squeezed his eyes shut. Delete.
"Chief of Detectives Honolulu calling to say that we are done responding to calls to your residence for the day. Your 5-0 freaks are up to it again. Someone driving by just saw two men wrestling on the roof of your house. Deal with it! You got a real emergency out there? Too bad! You're on your own right now."
A headache started pounding at his temples.
"Boss, this is Chin. He's under sedation…sort of. I hope there weren't too many messages. It was sort of a crazy day. I'm sure you heard from a few of our…fellow agencies. Just ignore all that. You don't need to worry about that right now. I'm sure tomorrow will be better. I hope your flights are going smoothly."
Delete. That was the first message that didn't send his heart into spasms. There was still one more. He had a strong urge to just delete it so that he would have less material for the nightmares he was bound to have on the flight to London. Still, his sense of responsibility won over and he clicked it.
"Hey, Steve, I'm sorry. I'm an animal, a very sleepy, sleepy animal. I apologized to Kono and Chin. Kono even let me use my phone to apologize to you. She's sooooo ….wonderful and…pretty…You probably needed some time away from the craziness…my craziness. I understand that. I'm too much work. Want to be…alone…and I want to know…where you are…I'm like a frickin' something or other…but I understand now…that I…cannot…be…alone…and that…you need…your space…appreciate all of you…g'night, Steve…"
Steve sighed deeply. Danny was right. He was too much work, but he was worth every ounce of effort they were putting in. He was the most important person in his life right now, and it was impossible to not carry him deeply in his heart. Sometimes, it confused him, but he accepted the truth of it nonetheless. His flight number sounded and he jerked himself upright. He took one last look at the falling snow, and then started off for the gate.
Then he stopped, cursed, and hit redial on the phone. He took a deep breath. "Danny, just listen to this and don't try to call me again. You gotta' trust me. I'm not avoiding you. Honestly. It's just…that I got a thing to do, something I can do. But I'll be back. No more trouble. Okay, partner? Talk to you in a few days."
Immediately, he started to feel the relief flood through him. He powered the phone down, and then trotted off before the gate closed.
….
TBC