Sorry! SorrySorrySorrySorrySorry! I am so, so sorry. I've been busy with other things and hadn't had the desire to write lately but I'm trying to back into it. Taking a while but I am trying.
Daniel wrapped his arms around his knees as he listened to Five-0 talk about their latest case from the safety of Danny's office. He's not allowed out of the blond's office when he's at work and Daniel's not allowed to go anywhere on his own, just in case he had the urge to change his visage and take off after Dean, or so McGarrett says. And to be honest, that's exactly what he'd've done. Being with Dean meant safety, stability. He misses that. But he has no idea where Dean is. So he's stuck with Danny until he figures out what to do next.
He's sitting on the couch in Danny's office, facing the door just like Dean taught him, praying they'd take a break soon because the amount of growling his stomach is making, McGarret'd think he changed shape. Which would be inaccurate. He can change his body into other humans, he can't change into animals. That's an entirely different species called Skinwalkers, and they're scary mofos.
Very territorial.
The sound of Danny's office door opening had Daniel shrinking as small as Mathias Envers' body can be, which isn't very much. Dude's got some muscle mass that speaks of many hours in a gym.
A girl who looked vaguely familiar poked her head into Danny's office. She blinked in surprise when she saw Daniel huddled on the couch. They stared at each other unsure what to make of the other, when the girl decided to break the impasse and stride forward with a confidence Daniel wished he could emulate.
"Hi," the girl greeted, sticking her hand out, "My name's Grace, what are you doing in Danno's office? Are you in trouble?"
Grace. Detective Williams' beloved daughter, and the apple of Danny's, McGarrett's and Dean's eye. Well...shit.
Daniel hesitantly reached out and shook her hand, marveling slightly at her strong grip.
"I'm Daniel," he replied.
Grace tilted her head and refused to let Daniel's hand go. In fact, she tightened her grip and stared at him with an intensity that is unnerving. He found himself shrinking in his seat and tried to tug his hand free. He averted his eyes from her probing stare, a blush working its way down from his ears to his chest when he realized he just lost a stare down with a pre-teen (teen?) girl. Dean'd've never let him live it down.
"You're scared," she said matter-of-factly. "Why? You're safe here with Danno, Uncle Steve, Uncle Chin, and Auntie Kono. It's the safest place on the island."
Daniel didn't know what to say. He's scared to speak to her. What if McGarrett saw them? He'd kill Daniel on the spot.
"Actually," Grace started, finally letting Daniel's go and quit staring at him like he's a particularly interesting bug, "the safest place is with Dean. He's my Uncle Steve's boyfriend. He knows how to kill monsters and stuff. Do you need a monster killed?"
Daniel blinked. Uhhhh...
"It's okay," Grace assured him. "I know monsters are real. I overheard Danno and Auntie Kono talking about it one night. I asked Dean about it and he confirmed it. He told me never to worry because he's there and he'll make sure none of those nasty sons of bitches come anywhere near me." She broke off to blink away sudden tears and swallow back a sob. "He'll come back. He loves Uncle Steve. He'll come back, you'll see. He just needs time to cool off."
Again, Daniel blinked. He has no idea what to say.
He opened his mouth to offer something...condolences?...say he knows Dean?...but before he could, Grace collected herself and asked, "Do you wanna play Crazy 8's?"
Like a magic trick, she pulled out a deck of cards from Detective Williams' desk. She didn't even wait for Daniel to respond, she was already shuffling the deck dealing out cards. Well then, he's playing cards with a teenager.
Daniel lost himself in the game, allowing his mind to drift away from thoughts of his possible death by McGarrett or Linas, and focused on not losing his 7th straight game to Grace. She's a little cut throat, and he admires that about her. At her age, he was cowering in the sewers hiding from the humans that dominated the world above, and he was all alone without anyone to care about him.
He'd been alone for a long, long time before he met Dean.
The door slamming open had Daniel letting out a shriek of fear and diving behind the couch, startling the shit out of poor Grace who flung the cards all about. She swore loudly, earning a sharp rebuke from Steve as he jumped over the couch and hauled Daniel up to his feet, only to slam him against the glass wall hard enough to crack the glass. He ignored Grace's shout of alarm, and Danny's roar of anger, and the teams' shouts of him to stop, but it was one voice that cut through everything.
"Commander McGarrett!" A pissed off British voice bellowed.
Steve turned to see an incredibly pissed off Rachel marching towards him. Once she got within reaching distance of the SEAL, she rocked back and punched him hard enough to send him crashing against the very window he slammed Daniel into. She towered over Steve, enraged beyond belief.
"What. Is. Wrong. With you?" she snarled. "I don't care what that man did to you, you will not scare my daughter like that again." Her nostrils flared dangerously as she struggled to control her anger. "Daniel," she said, turning to her ex-husband, "will you please take Grace and the young man to another room?"
Danny numbly nodded his head, leading both Grace and Daniel to Kono's office. He shot a worried look to Chin, who gave him a helpless shrug in response.
He watched his ex-wife positively lambaste his partner and best friend within an inch of his life. It was pretty funny watching the gigantic SEAL shrink down to the size of Thumbelina as a woman slightly smaller than Danny, tower over him as she unleashed her wrath upon the poor unsuspecting Navy Lieutenant Commander.
Danny saw Steve open his mouth, most likely to defend himself, but Rachel cut him off and yelled at him more viciously. Steve paled at whatever Rachel said, earning a cruel smirk from the petite woman. And now Steve looks like he's about to cry.
Okay, time to intervene.
"Grace, Daniel, I want you two to stay here while I go help out Steve," he told his daughter and newest house guest. "Grace, I want you to make sure Daniel's head isn't busted."
"Yes, Danno," Grace replied, her eyes wide as she watched her mother yell at her Uncle Steve.
Danny took a fortifying breath before opening his office door and striding inside.
"...And you wonder why Dean left in the manner that he did," she snapped.
"Rachel!" Danny yelled, angry now that he knew why Steve looked like he was this close to losing it. He's blinking rapidly and swallowing a whole lot. Not good. "Never bring up Dean, remember? That topic is off limits!"
She whirled towards him. "I don't care! He scared our daughter, Danny, and for what? A man that obviously is not dangerous at all."
Steve collected himself long enough to ask, "And how do you know he's not dangerous?"
The look Rachel sent Steve brought up horrible memories of the days before the divorce in Danny. He sent a telepathic message of support and a promise to talk later to the big lug but he didn't think Steve got it.
"Because, Commander," Rachel hissed, making the title sound like a filthy swear word, "if he had been dangerous, Danny wouldn't've left him uncuffed in his office. He wouldn't have let Grace go into his office if there was someone unsafe in there. I asked Danny if Grace could wait in his office, and he said yes. Ergo, that young man is not dangerous."
Steve sent her a glare that made even Danny nervous to see.
"With all due respect, Mrs. Edwards," Steve said with gritted teeth, "but you don't know him."
"And if you think he's such a danger, why isn't he locked up or in cuffs?" Rachel asked with a sneer. "Why is he sitting curled on the couch, alone, unsupervised in Danny's office? That man did nothing but entertain Grace while Daniel and I talked about his upcoming weekend with our daughter. You touch that man again, and I swear Commander, I will file brutality charges against you, and don't think I won't."
They glared at each other, the hostility between them could have frozen the surface of the sun.
Danny's unsure if he should intervene or not. They could both take their anger out on him or they could spoil him later, thanking him for breaking up their argument before it escalated to the point of violence, and Danny doesn't think Steve will come out on top. Rachel is a dirty fighter.
"Uh," he dithered, much to his eternal embarrassment. If Steve wasn't this close to going feral, Danny knew to the very fiber of his being, that his partner would tease him about it until the end of days. Danny lucked out on that front.
"I think we should shelve this conversation for a later date, okay?" Danny said, clapping his hands together. "I'm going to go check on Grace and Daniel."
"Wait, the young man's name is 'Daniel'?" Rachel asked, blinking in surprise. At Steve and Danny's nod, Rachel had to stifle a smile. "What - Why is he here? What did he do?"
Danny answered before Steve did.
"Someone tried to kill him." He waited a bit, having an internal debate before adding, "He's also a friend of Dean's."
The change in Rachel made Danny straighten up in response.
"He's Dean's friend, and someone tried to kill him," she said slowly, her mind churning. "Dean was here. On the island. And he didn't come see Grace?" Her anger started to return in full force.
Danny had to stop it before Rachel truly lost it, but it was Steve who spoke up.
"He was on Maui," he responded flatly. "He was on Maui with that... with Daniel. He'd been on that island for a couple of weeks before we got wind of him even being back on the islands, and he disappeared the day we went looking for him."
"Actually," Danny cut in, not liking Steve placing all the blame on Dean, "we think Dean's dad came and collected him before we caught up to him, leaving Daniel behind for his own safety." Okay, so he lied about the last part.
Rachel snorted. "So much for leaving that young man behind for safety, especially considering he's already had two attempts on his life, one in protective custody." The glare she sent Steve would have melted all of Antarctica into one big ass puddle. Steve's returning glare did nothing but piss Rachel off more.
Fuck his life, Danny thought forlornly. All he's going to hear about for days is how unreasonable the other is.
"Daniel's been staying with me," Danny told Rachel in an attempt to change the subject. "I told him Grace is coming over and he promised to stay out of the way."
"What?!" Steve squawked indignantly. "You can't possibly be thinking of letting Grace near that Thing! It's not safe. That Thing isn't safe. We know it isn't." Steve threw his hands in the air before combing them through his hair in frustration. "You know what? I'm not letting you take Grace to your place if that Thing is going to be staying with you while Gracie's there."
Danny felt his blood pressure skyrocket. How dare he!
Before he could stop himself, Danny swung as hard as he can, grinning a feral smile when he connected and watched Steve fall down to his knees. Danny followed up and brought his fist down again. He ignored the shouts of Rachel and his team mates, all he cared about was hurting Steve.
He's so mad at the SEAL. For everything. He's the reason Dean left. He's the reason they lost Dean.
And who the fuck does he think he is to keep his daughter away from him!
Chin pulled him back while Catherine and Kono checked on Steve. Rachel gave Steve a cold smile when she walked by to go check on Gracie and Daniel.
"Come, you two," she told them. "Let's go to Danny's while they sort this out."
Grace stared in shock at her father, shuffling after her mother on autopilot, her hand grasping Daniel's. Daniel plodded after Grace, keeping his head down, afraid to attract the attention of any of the task force members. They might blame him for this whole thing. He knows McGarrett will blame him for Danny's behavior. It's best to not look anyone in the eye.
Though he is wondering why Rachel is being so protective of him. Is it to use against Danny at a later date? For full custody of Grace?
He tightened his grip on Grace's hand without thinking, mind on Danny potentially losing Grace because of him. He's been around the man long enough to know the sun revolves around his little girl. If Danny loses Grace, Daniel loses a safe haven, and Dean might not be too happy with him possibly being the reason that happens.
Grace squeezed his hand back. She gave him a reassuring smile that had Daniel feeling bad for having a young teenager comforting him when it was her "Danno" and Uncle Steve fighting like that.
Daniel knows those two bicker over anything and everything but so far, Daniel's never really seen them fight like they just did. That was serious. He has no idea how Grace is handling this but he's not going to push in case he might break whatever zen she's currently feeling. He has no idea how to comfort someone. Just ask Dean... and now Grace.
"Don't worry," Grace assured him. "Uncle Steve didn't mean what he said."
"But what if he did?" Daniel asked. "What if he meant it? He hates me because I lived with Dean. He'd do anything to make my life hell, and I don't think he's thinking straight if he's threatening Danny like that."
Grace sighed and let Daniel's hand go to scrub her face with both hands. Daniel felt bad for asking her these questions but she knows them best.
She looked around before tugging Daniel out the office doors and down the stairs to the parking lot, away from prying eyes and ears, and it had Daniel feeling slightly nervous. She's Danny daughter, and she has some aunts and uncles who have undoubtedly taught her some moves that would ensure her to come out on top of whoever she's fighting, and she could kick his ass from here to the end of the parking lot with embarrassing ease. His ego would never recover if that happened.
"Is Dean okay?"
Daniel blinked. Out of all the things running through his head, that was not what he'd thought she'd say. Then again, of course that's what she'd ask about. Her crush on Dean would make him a priority after her father, and then it'd be her Uncle Steve and everyone else.
"He was fine the last time I saw him," Daniel admitted. He decided not to elaborate because he didn't want to upset if he confessed all the fears he had over Dean.
Grace let out a sigh of relief and leaned briefly against him.
"Thank God," she muttered to herself. Grace shot him a happy smile and asked, "Do you think he'll come back?"
Daniel blinked again. The serious - and a little bit - insecure question does not match the happy expression on her face. It's kind of putting Daniel off-kilter, and he has not idea how to answer her because he doesn't know what answer she's looking for.
"I dunno," he answered honestly.
Grace deflated in front of him. It was like the sun being eclipsed.
"I thought that since you were here that Dean'd come back for you, if not for anyone else," Grace said bitterly. Daniel's not sure he shouldn't say anything. "He was actually here on the islands? For how long?"
There's a sharpness in her questions that has Daniel feeling like he was on thin ice in the middle of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antartica. He better tread lightly or he'll have a pissed off Williams on his hand. The wrong answer will have a cold front - that would make Russia terrified - be on his ass, and would most likely unite with the McGarrett's artic winds. He'd be frozen faster than he could blink.
"Not long."
Grace glared at him. "Why won't you tell me how long you two were on the island?"
"Because I don't want to get hit," Daniel answered in a small voice. "McGarrett would love to do the honors."
Grace frowned, not liking that her beloved Uncle Steve would be that cruel to Daniel.
Daniel flinched when he heard Rachel calling for Grace. He shot a nervous look behind to see if McGarrett was charging towards him with murder in his eyes or if Danny was coming to tell him some bad news. Neither of them were behind Rachel.
"Let's go eat," Rachel called at them.
Grace grabbed Daniel's hand and tugged him towards her mother.
"We're not done talking," she whispered so her mother wouldn't hear. "But I won't let Uncle Steve hurt you either, and don't worry about this weekend. There is no way I'm letting anyone keep me away from my Danno."
She had this fierce look on her face that had Daniel believing her because he had no doubt in his mind that Grace would rain holy hell on anyone who would dare keep her away from her father, regardless of who it is. Not again.
"Okay." Daniel gave her a small, unsure smile. She returned the smile with a wink.
Danny has one amazing, and really terrifying kid.
ALK
Dean punched the ghoul he and his dad were hunting in Spokane right in the face. The ghoul snarled at him, face bloody from its now broken nose. Dean dodged a wild punch the creature threw in desperation, realization dawning on it that if it doesn't take out Dean right now, it was going to die.
He had no idea where his dad is which sucks because he could really use some help right now. The ghoul's desperation is lending it strength and its starting to gain some ground on there battle, and he is going to lose if his dad doesn't help right the fuck now.
Like an avenging angel, his dad appeared behind the ghoul and swung his machete to take off the ghoul's head. The head landed with a wet thunk while the body spurted blood on Dean before falling down to the ground. Twin pools of blood grew into big puddles from where the severed head lay and the top end of the body where the head once stood. With the right angle, it would probably look like some piece of modern or Gothic art.
"Thanks," Dean gasped out. He bent over to catch his breath. Man, that ghoul was strong.
His dad grinned at him, eyes alight with adrenaline and amusement. He reached over and clapped Dean on the back.
"No problem," he told Dean.
Dean caught his breath and stood up to his full height, stretching out the kinks he accumulated during the fight, hissing slightly when he pulled on sore muscles and bruised parts. He leaned into his dad. Well, slumped would be more accurate.
"Carry me," he whined, earning a chuckle from his dad.
John ducked under Dean's arm and wrapped his own around Dean's waist, taking on most of his tired son's weight. They had a few bumps in the road to this point, where Dean is acting a little more bravely around him, even joking around with him. John honestly can't remember the last time Dean let himself truly relax around him.
No. That's a lie.
The last time Dean was this relaxed around him was before Mary died. Before Sam was born. Before everything went wrong with their family.
He can clearly recall Dean running through the house, screaming bloody murder, holding his treasured purple teddy bear he named Bucky because John showed him his old Captain America comics and Dean fell in love with the Captain's kid sidekick Bucky. Dean had launched himself on John, tucking Bucky between him and Dean so the bear would be kept safe from whatever danger was currently imagining them being in. And John, who had been in the process of getting up from the recliner, got knocked back down and had an armful of hyperactive Dean.
Mary's laughter had John biting back a sharp retort because Dean and Bucky landed on a rather sensitive area on John's body. Instead, he wrapped his arms tight around his son and picked him and the bear up and ran (as well as he could after getting hit in the balls) them upstairs to the master bedroom. He slammed the door shut and ushered Dean and Bucky Bear in the closet while he fought the Red Skull.
It was a glorious battle, or so he told Dean. Captain America had showed up and took Red Skull away so he wouldn't bother Dean and Bucky Bear again. His son had clapped with joy and gave a kiss of thanks on his cheek, giggling when the scruff of John's beard tickled him.
Dean had collapsed against him, hugging Bucky Bear close to his chest, and had just lain there atop his dad, resting and completely at ease and full of trust in the knowledge that John loved him no matter what and knew his dad would protect him at all costs. He fell asleep on top of John. He believes Mary took a picture of them together like that. It burned up in the fire like so many other things.
"Nice job with distracting the ghoul," John complimented him, bringing himself back from the past. Dean grunted in response. "You could have done better," he couldn't help but add. "That ghoul should have never gotten the upper hand with you. I taught you better than that."
"Well, Dad," Dean started, "when someone is about to die, and they realize this, they get ridiculously strong from a surge of adrenaline. That whole Fight-or-Flight reflex thing is real."
John snorted and ducked out from under Dean's arm, letting his son stumble a bit before he got his balance again. Dean shot John an angry glare.
"Dick," Dean muttered darkly. "For that, I'm not talking to you." He crossed his arms and refused to respond to any of his dad's questions or remarks.
He didn't think Dean could do it, especially after the freighter incident, but Dean actually kept his trap shut and didn't say a word to John the entire ride to Pastor Jim's in Minnesota, and they were traveling from Colorado. John couldn't help but admire his son's stubbornness, and he thinks if that storm hadn't've popped up while they were on that freighter, Dean still might not be talking to him.
Maybe Sam absorbed Dean's hidden stubbornness into himself and that's why his youngest is so damn pigheaded. It's a good a theory as any.
Pastor Jim Murphy greeted John at the door with a disapproving look that washed over John like water off a duck. John grunted at the pastor when he walked by into the parish. Dean, on the other hand, greeted Pastor Jim with a happy shout and hugged the older man.
Pastor Jim laughed and hugged Dean back.
"I have missed you, Dean," Pastor Jim whispered into his hair. He pressed a kiss to Dean's temple, happy to have Dean back where he can check up on him. Jim had been worried about John's oldest since he took off from Hawaii. They hadn't been able to find him, John taught the boy too well, and it came around to bite all of them in the ass when they couldn't find him. Well, they couldn't find Dean, and Jim bets his eternal soul that John knew exactly where his son was and was just letting his boy find his way on his own.
Despite what people say about John Winchester, Jim knows the Winchester Patriarch loves his boys dearly and would do anything for their safety. Even if it meant lying to them.
John's appearance does not bode well.
"Missed you, too," Dean mumbled into his shoulder. "Please tell me you got something to eat. I'm starving. Dad didn't stop the entire drive here, and speaking of, I need to take a piss. Like now. Bathroom still in the same place?" Jim nodded. "Oh, good. I'll be right back."
Dean darted passed Jim and down the hallway that housed the bathroom. Jim chuckled. Oh, Dean, how he missed him. He wasn't lying when he told the boy that.
"So," Jim started, turning to stare at John, who is currently sprawled out on his new couch, "where'd you find him at?"
"Hawaii," John answered.
"Haw - Really?" Now Jim did not see that coming. "Why?"
John snorted. "Why else? He was hiding from McGarrett there. Oh, and me. He was hiding from the both of us in Hawaii, the last place either of us would look. And he was right," John admitted. "For McGarrett. I found him after that poltergeist case he worked on in Michigan. Been following ever since until I collected him on Maui."
"Will this McGarrett person come after him again?" Pastor Jim asked mildly. He's unsure what side of the fence he'd fall on if the Navy SEAL did come for Dean.
John shook his head. "Not likely. He has no idea where to look for Dean, but he does know I took him. Or he should. If not, then maybe he's not the guy for my son."
Pastor Jim Murphy rolled his eyes so hard his vision whited out and he even saw God look upon John friggin' Winchester in exasperation. No one will be good enough for either of his sons, and Heaven help anyone who dared to think they were worthy of John Winchester's sons. The former Marine will prove them wrong real quick. And it doesn't matter how good they actually are for the boys, John will never deem them good enough, not in a million, billion years.
Did he detect a hint of derisiveness in John's voice when he said McGarrett's name?
"Where's Samuel?" Better to move on from McGarrett. "I thought he was joining you guys."
"Still in school. We're going after him next week," John informed him. A little too nonchalantly, if Jim were being honest, but he won't say anything because he doesn't want a surly Winchester on his hands. It seems that there's already an air of contention between John and Dean, and he doesn't want to turn their ire onto him.
"Okay then," Jim said. He went into the kitchen and started heating some of his leftovers for them to eat.
By the time he heated up all of his leftovers, Dean emerged looking clean and reinvigorated, he must have had a quick shower. Those military three-minute showers sure do come in handy.
"You. Are. Awesome," Dean told Jim with the utmost sincerity, and it brought a smile to the Pastor's face. He always had a soft spot for Dean. Don't get him wrong, he cared deeply for both boys but watching Dean basically raise Sam while John pursued his crusade for the demon that killed his beloved wife, Jim found himself spoiling Dean when John wasn't around. Little things that he knew Dean wouldn't suspect as special treatment because then he'd be mad at Jim for giving him these toys and such instead of Sammy.
Dean descended upon the lasagna like a starved wolf and ate it up faster than Jim could even offer him a drink. John tore into the beef stew, and he startled the crap out of Jim because he didn't even hear him enter the kitchen.
Damned Marine and his sneaky ninja skills.
Pastor Jim got two Pepsi cans out of the fridge and placed in front of the two ravenous men. They grunted thanks at him and continued eating all the leftovers he placed on the table, going in a clockwise manner until they met up over the chocolate fudge cake Jim made as a treat to himself for doing a sermon he's still proud of.
They glared at each other before they battled over the cake. The clashing of forks had Jim dodging suddenly airborne pieces of cake. John won, of course.
Dean retaliated by drinking up the last of the milk, much to the outrage of John. The younger hunter smirked at him and sauntered down the hall to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him, even turning the lock just in case John didn't get he was mad at him.
"Do I want to know?" Jim asked mildly.
"No," came the surly reply.
Figures. Damn Winchester men. Such drama queens.
