H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O

"He's still scared," Steve stated the obvious as they finally got to the house after hours of necessary red-tape, including a quick once-over by a pediatrician to ensure that C.J. was in decent health. Which he thankfully was, allowing all concerned to breathe out a collective sigh of relief. The scene had been ugly and threatened to be a tip of an even uglier iceberg. At least the child had no outward signs of abuse and that was a happy boon; it also took some of the adult's emotional heat off the young mother, giving her just a tiny bit of a break. And to be fair, they all needed to do that and not jump to too many conclusions.

While Danny held him now, Steve gently rubbed his knuckles across C.J.'s cheek. Instead of smiling back, C.J. closed eyes before he buried his face in Danny's neck, hiding away from him, his limbs hanging long and loose as he barely hung on to Danny's shoulders.

"He's exhausted and he's going to sleep," Danny replied as he gently re-adjusted the child. "No matter what we think, his whole world's been turned upside down. I'm glad he ate a little bit at the hospital, but he needs a good night's sleep. I think he'll be fine in Charlie's room."

"We're only fractionally better," Steve noted quietly. "I don't know how we're going to explain his mother to him." Steve sighed as he followed Danny down the hallway towards Charlie's bedroom, the toy lion tucked under his own arm. The "assumed to be mother" had taken a turn for the worse while C.J. was getting that brief physical and her doctors were struggling to keep the woman alive.

"We'll cross that bridge tomorrow," Danny whispered. "But I know he's better here with us right now. It's been a traumatic enough day for him; he didn't need to be shuttled around to more folks he wouldn't know ... taken god-knows where. He trusts us. At least a little bit."

"He doesn't really even know us Danno," Steve tried to object next, though he was pleased with how things had gone. Their eyes briefly met and Danny smiled as he automatically soothed a warm circle over C.J.'s back. They'd lost their weekend together yet Danny was in his element and already well-entrenched with the child, the crime scene, and wanting to be able to find out every single mystery surrounding the boy and his mother's existence. He was one hundred and ten percent vested in C.J.'s well-being. And quite honestly, so was Steve which was a little startling to realize after only a few hours.

"True. But he's already more comfortable with me and you … he knows at least we're the good guys. Geez, why am I whispering," Danny softly chided himself as he carried the sleepy boy to bed, gently laying him down when Steve pulled back the covers. He paused to brush C.J.'s long bangs from his forehead much as he would for his own son, grinning when the boy instinctively squirreled over onto his stomach.

"Besides ... none of this makes sense. Where would she get over fifteen thousand dollars in loose, small bills? The gun? Another twenty-five thousand in drugs? And then this little man? He could be in danger, Steve, if nothing more than as payback for whatever it is this lady's involved with ... we've seen it before. I can just about guarantee that someone's out there right now, looking for that cash and the drugs and maybe willing to do anything to get it all back."

"Yeah, we sure have and you're right," Steve said with a soft sigh. "Maybe we're ahead of the curve this time ... in the very least, this little guy's safe."

He couldn't help frowning in consideration because, like Danny, he was continually mulling over the details about the budding case. So much didn't make sense and they'd already decided to take a calculated risk in not blocking the arrest details to the public on their sketchy Jane Doe. However, that release of information had been heavily edited. Even if it might have yielded much faster results, no one dared risk the child by hanging him out at arm's length like some dispensable carrot of sorts. The HPD blotter had intentionally omitted the existence of the child as they tried to track down who and where the woman might have come from — baby-steps in starting to flush out potential accomplices. Other intel would be gathered on the street. Coconut wire; whatever it took, but in person and with utmost care.

Danny was already thumbing on a night light and leaving the bedroom when Steve put the toy lion on the edge of the bed where C.J. might see it if he should wake up. "Sleep tight buddy," he whispered as he bent down to tuck a light blanket around the sleeping child, shaking his head helplessly because the boy was sound asleep and he was indeed still whispering.

H5O* H5O

It was the middle of the night when Steve finally gave up trying to shut his brain off. Danny had snuck out of their room a few times to check in on C.J., making sure the boy was still peacefully asleep. He had been. Still on his stomach, hadn't so much as twitched according to his partner. Now though, Danny was out for the count and he merely turned over away from Steve, grumbling something inane as Steve eased himself to his feet. He stood over Danny for a moment, just watching him sleep, amused when Danny re-arranged himself to where he'd been. Limbs flung wide, Danny automatically encroached Steve's space. He was a back-sleeper with a penchant for taking up more than his share of the bed. He had no concept of personal space in their bedroom or even elsewhere come to think of it and Steve had to bite back a chuckle as he watched Danny unconsciously have the gall to steal his pillow, too. Payback would be fun ... later.

Steve probably should have tried harder to sleep, however he simply couldn't be bothered by that point. Old habits were hard to break and when his mind wouldn't shut off, giving in was simply the better and easier option. He left the room silently, his own check on C.J. happily finding the same as Danny had reported earlier.

He opted to sit quietly at the kitchen table in the half light cast by his laptop, searching the internet and reading while simultaneously sharing a few messages with Jerry Ortega who was busily investigating missing children on their behalf. Evidently Jerry was also a light sleeper or just a night owl. After conversing with the man, Steve grinned to himself after reading a rather obtuse reply and decided on the latter. As their resident conspiracy theorist, Jerry's innately suspicious nature seemed to cater to limited sleep and a desire to stay up late poking into the most dusty of corners. When it came to possibly learning more about C.J., crazily enough, having Jerry run point made sense. He'd look where no one might even think, and for that, Steve found himself satisfied.

"Well that just doesn't even make sense, Jer," Steve chuckled to himself as his instant messenger feature softly chimed again. Using social media and an alias, Jerry had taken the initiative to leak some additional but still very basic information about their Jane Doe, angling for someone to step forward to I.D. the woman. Mention of the convenience store ... a faked sense of amazement about the large volume cash on her person ... use of Jordy's name. These were things Jerry could get away with. A different approach indeed, and if the tactic got them something in the end, then Steve wasn't going to gripe too much. What Jerry was doing didn't quite need to make sense to him, it only had to make sense to the other night-owls prowling the net.

As he typed back a brief reply of his own, Steve heard him before he even got to the kitchen. The light patter of feet; a congested sniffle. Steve was getting to his feet just as C.J. rounded the corner to the kitchen, bolting into his arms without a second thought.

"Hey, hey, hey. What's this?," Steve murmured as he caught up the sobbing child, smiling sadly to himself as small fingers latched onto this shirt. "What happened, huh? Bad dream?" He guessed wisely as he rubbed C.J.'s back and kissed the side of the boy's over-heated cheek. Not that Steve had expected one, but of course C.J. didn't answer him. He was trembling and snuffling loudly, his hands linked tightly now round Steve's neck. That was enough of a clue. Either a bad dream or the little boy was just plain scared; and really, what did it matter?

"You're okay. You're safe here," he soothed repeatedly, hoping that C.J. would at least feel his voice. "Easy, baby … easy," Steve whispered when trying to untangle the small body got him nowhere at all. With no recourse but to wait out the tears, Steve began to pace the kitchen, gently swaying and bouncing the child in his arms. When C.J. finally seemed to quiet enough, Steve dared to ease himself down into a chair by the table.

"Here, let's try something," Steve said, leaning back trying to see the boy's face, using his hand to wipe what was left of the flood of tears away. "You're okay," he repeated, smiling gently, when C.J. finally looked up at him.

Until C.J. had woken, Steve had specifically been searching the internet to get more information on American sign language to further what Danny had begun. Besides keeping C.J.'s trust and a simple need to communicate with the boy on a basic level, they also needed a way to determine if C.J. might also be to tell them more about where he'd been living, more about his mother ... if he had a family. Better yet, if the child might know any of the people revolving within his mother's dangerous circle.

"Look," Steve said. He pointed to the computer screen. In the short time he'd been searching, Steve had learned a few things. Plus Danny's notes were on the kitchen table - the handwritten alphabet and snippets of hand gestures - notes that were just enough to have gotten the ball rolling in a positive direction. So, Steve pulled them out again and put them next to the computer, knowing that C.J. would understand. As usual, what Danny had apparently figured out by intuition and pantomime had uncovered a few things. He'd done an unusually excellent job and Steve grinned as C.J. heaved in a watery sigh, his expression calming, his head resting against Steve's shoulder. He was watching.

Tapping his palm to his chest, Steve then pressed his pointer and middle fingers together on each hand while tucking his others into his palm. With C.J. cuddled in his lap, Steve formed an x-shape, his extended fingers on top of the other. He tapped them together.

"My name is ….," Steve said as C.J. watched his hands then looked into his face, his expression now one of surprise. "Ah, you do know this," Steve noted with a bigger smile when C.J. nodded. It was just a little bit more than Danny had done and his grin turned even a bit more cocky when C.J.'s reaction proved he was doing it right.

Exaggerating his facial expression, Steve lifted an eyebrow and grinned at C.J. as he very slowly spelled out his own name. The American sign language online hints had clearly showed the alphabet and since Danny and C.J. had already gotten that far on paper, re-confirming Steve's name was easy enough.

C.J. grinned back through his tears, nodding more vigorously as Steve finished spelling his name. Then C.J. mimicked the same thing Steve had just done by tapping his own small chest and using his fingers much the same way to make that x-shape.

'My name is CJ' ... the letters were astonishingly clear now and Steve nodded before proving he'd learned something even more.

"Yes," he said at the same time he made a fist which he rocked back and forth in C.J.'s direction. "Yes. I got it," Steve added, chuckling when the little boy made a fist of his own, rocking it triumphantly.

'Yes!' The hesitant smile on C.J.'s face proved that Steve had gotten it all right for sure.

"All right then ... ," Steve started to say, stopping entirely when C.J. lost his small smile to a sad sniffle. "What's this?" He asked gently. Steve pointed at the boy, shrugging helplessly for emphasis. How could he help? What was wrong?

It was obvious that the boy understood his unspoken question. He understood that Steve wanted more, but for a long moment, C.J. did nothing.

"Tell me," Steve pressed. "Try." Unsure of what to do, Steve jiggled the boy gently on his knee and shrugged again. This time, Steve pointed to his own head and face, intentionally trying to look sad ... maybe even a little bit scared.

Measuring him closely, C.J. nodded. He took a deep breath and held one hand to the side of his head, pointer finger raised high. He looked at Steve as he moved that finger out before holding both hands wide in front of his chest as if shaking in fear. Then he tapped his head again, his eyes welling with tears, his breath hitching.

"You had a bad dream," Steve noted as he kissed the top of the boy's head, tucking him in tight, allowing him to snuggle closer into his chest. "You're safe here … it's okay, C.J.," he said when he felt little fingers digging into his shirt again.

Bending his head down, Steve caught C.J.'s eyes and smiled. "You're safe," Steve repeated, wishing he knew how to communicate better. "Promise ... it's okay."

The boy bit his lip though, his eyes still full of tears as he stared into Steve's face. As he'd done earlier in the day, he opened his right hand and tapped his chin with his thumb, his other fingers splayed wide. He did it a few times, switching to tapping his forehead, and growing more upset by the second when Steve didn't understand.

"I'm sorry," Steve said, perplexed by the introduction of this new, second sign. He frowned, angry only with himself. "Let's start here, okay?"

It was easier to confirm what they already were learning about each other. So now, Steve tried to change the subject. Capitalizing on the concepts of the things they could share, he swung his laptop towards him and took a chance at typing in a search for 'how to finger sign having a bad dream' in ASL. The results were spot-on and Steve rubbed C.J.'s arm to get his attention.

"Okay, here's one. Look … here, look," Steve said when the short video came up on a basic sign language website and the video-based instructor showed a near-identical example of what C.J. had just said. He tapped the screen and then glanced down at the child on his lap, happy to see C.J. was interested in the video. Their eyes met when it ended and C.J. made a fist. Steve won that rocking fist again for a resounding yes, even if the boy's face remained saddened.

'Yes?' Steve asked using his own fist and C.J. nodded this time. He repeated his initial signs. Faster though since he and Steve had indeed figured out another layer of communication. This time, C.J. rapidly re-signed the letter Steve now saw was the letter 'D' by the side of his head and then, using both hands, the emphatic sign for nightmare. Precisely the same as in the video.

Despite the success, his face began to crumple. As it did, C.J. opened his hand to tap his chin with his thumb once more, his other fingers splayed wide. Steve could practically feel C.J.'s sadness and disappointment growing.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry … I'll figure it out. No, no. Don't cry," Steve whispered, vainly trying to shush the boy's tears by stroking the flushed cheeks and kissing the top of his head. "I'll figure it out. I will …."

C.J. had had enough though. He was done with trying to talk and Steve stopped as the boy buried his face in his chest.

"You need a good night's sleep, buddy. We'll get this all figured out in a day or two; I promise," Steve murmured. He glanced at the video on his laptop, his expression grim. It was repeating itself in an endless loop and his eyes flickered over the menu of options. The website was a good one for basic sign language hints and tips covering essential, every day words for children. Though he'd assumed he'd only need a day or two, he'd now be spending a great deal more time on it - overnight if necessary. Steve was sure there were some decent things he could learn to make C.J. feel more at ease no matter how short a time he'd be in their care. Sighing about the present issue in hand as C.J. rested more heavily against his chest, his red-rimmed eyes begging to close, Steve got to his feet with the boy cradled in his arms.

"Time for bed," he said as he bent his head to catch his eye. "Sleep. Bed," he repeated slowly, mentally promising to learn those words too. He wanted more, so much more now and the list of basic words was growing in leaps and bounds. He stayed quiet as he coaxed C.J. back to bed, fluffing pillows and making sure the lion toy was within easy reach. Steve stayed there, too, rubbing circles on C.J.'s back until he fell asleep, with one arm flung over his toy.

"Everything okay?" Danny asked meeting Steve in the hallway, just as he was leaving Charlie's bedroom. "Is he okay?" He appeared in front of Steve in the dimly lit hallway, barefoot, hair disheveled from sleep and yawning widely.

"Yeah" Steve whispered. "He's fine." Unable to keep himself from smiling as he took in Danny's rumpled appearance. Barefoot, hair every which way but right, Danny was bleary-eyed and yawing widely. "He had a bad dream … seems okay now."

Danny raised an eyebrow but didn't question more as he silently padded after Steve, following him down the hallway and back to the kitchen. Watching Steve as he sat back down in his chair with a weary groan.

"What's this? Just ... how long have you been up?" Danny asked incredulously as he looked at the computer screen over Steve's shoulder. "Baby sign language dot com? Is this what you've been doing in the middle of the night?"

"I couldn't sleep; was IM'ing Jerry and then C.J. came in," Steve explained tiredly. "He was upset; crying. I'd already stumbled over the site, showed it to him, and it helped because C.J. had really signed that he'd had a bad dream … the video confirmed it. So, you're definitely right that he's had some decent level of instruction somewhere along the line. Tomorrow if he's up to it, maybe we can tease a few more things out of him."

"That's pretty cool," Danny said, impressed. But Danny chuckled as he held his hand in front of Steve's nose. "I love this. Don't you think it's kind of fitting that your name .. the letter 'S' ….starts out like this ... like a fist, don't you think?"

"The things you think of ...," Steve said as he rolled his eyes. "Is that the best you can do?" His complaint was weak though and his voice trailed away. Steve was clearly distracted and not in the mood to banter with his partner. Danny seemed to sense it as he leaned down to rest his chin on Steve's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Danny whispered.

"He keeps repeating that other sign," Steve said. "And now there's a new one. He's beside himself that I didn't get it; and then he added this other one. It's almost the same."

Steve splayed his fingers and tapped his chin with his thumb, before doing the same against his forehead. "I need to figure this out. For his sake."

"It's late. Can't we pick this up in the morning?" Danny asked as he wrapped his arms around Steve's shoulders. He leaned forward, closer, his temple pressed comfortingly to Steve's as encouragement to come back to bed but Steve merely shook his head.

"Can't wait ...," he insisted.

"Stubborn," Danny murmured as he kissed Steve's cheek.

"Takes one, Danno," Steve whispered as he turned his head to gently capture Danny's lips, their kiss chaste and simple. "I have to look … won't take long ... he's upset. It's important."

"I know," Danny said around a gentle and very understanding smile. "So? Let's see what we can find out. Go ahead ... let's page through this site you've found. Maybe it's here."

With Danny over his shoulder, Steve picked and pecked at words until he got to one in particular. It really didn't take long to find the answer. In fact, it was almost way too easy and the two of them practically caught their breath at the same time.

"Wow," Danny choked out, his eyes huge as he watched the video loop through a second time.

"Geez," Steve hissed through his teeth, entirely surprised, though he shouldn't have been. "He was asking about his mother?" Feeling the shock clear down to his toes, Steve wanted to shoot himself for missing the obvious. "God, I am so stupid! He wants his mother?!"

"Yeah, hold on," Danny said, voice tight. He was leaning over Steve now and rapidly paging through the website, his expression severe. It took him no time at all to find the description of the second sign which Steve had shown him.

"So ... he's got a father, too," Danny added softly. He tapped the computer screen as the second video began to loop through a demonstration by a pleasant looking woman - fingers splayed wide, thumb to forehead - of how to make the sign for dad or daddy.

Unconsciously glancing towards the bedroom where the little boy was sleeping, Steve inexplicably felt his heart sink. C.J. had a father.

~ to be continued ~