I could see the immediate change on Steve's face as I pleaded my case about finding Joe. Deep down, I knew Steve wanted to find him just as bad. Now the need was even greater with the impending threat sitting on my kitchen table. It felt like our only option was to find Joe, and bring him back to Hawaii.
"Wait, wait, wait. Just hold on a second," Danny broke the silence pulling both Steve's attention, and mine over towards Danny. "You cannot honestly be contemplating this. It's a suicide mission. Joe clearly does not want to be found!"
"Suicide mission? No, what we did in North Korea was a suicide mission. Finding Joe is like an exploratory expedition," I responded as evenly as I could.
"I am just saying, that maybe you two should hold off on any impending kamikaze missions until we get solid evidence of where Joe is. When we get evidence, I promise you I will fly with you to wherever the hell he is."
I stood there silently mulling it over the best I could in the moment. I had to find Joe there was no denying that, but waiting for evidence? No, Joe would be hiding his tracks, so we wouldn't find evidence unless we are out there actively looking for it. Either that or it would turn up long after he had moved on, he was simply too good at hiding especially once he figured out we were actively looking for him.
"That may not be such a bad idea, Jules," Steve said as he caved, looking down at me. "You focus on getting a sense of security back, and we'll work on the photos and tracking down Joe."
"Or," I snapped, "I could track down Joe and you guys could help me."
"Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall," Danny muttered before pressing his hands together and rubbing his forehead in aggravation. "I beg of you, think this through. If you come stay with me for a few nights we can sort this all out, together."
Steve instantly glanced back and forth between us as he tried to read between the lines. He wasn't stupid enough to miss what Danny hadn't said directly.
"You promise?" I asked realizing how childish it sounded.
I knew my words all but confirmed whatever Steve was thinking, but in the moment I just wanted whatever comfort Danny was willing to offer. It was certainly a comfort that I had not allowed myself in some time, and if I'm being honest...it scared the crap out of me.
"I promise you we will look for Joe and find out who did this, together."
That small declaration made me feel slightly better about the situation. I sighed glancing over at Steve who had a concerned look on his face. Obviously, he had known for some time that Danny and I had a strong connection, but that didn't mean he was prepared to witness it firsthand just yet. You could tell that he was trying to process what had just happened, or perhaps what had already happened. It was almost comical seeing the war of a brother protecting his kid sister in a way to happiness as he saw the change that Danny had brought to my life. Danny had tamed the over-emotional wreck he had rescued years ago. I think it's safe to assume Steve was also happy to see Danny start to let someone in as well. It wasn't like he hadn't been burned a time or two in the past as well.
I walked slowly into Danny's apartment realizing, I hadn't really set foot in the place he had finally settled down in. After months of searching, he managed to get the kind of place he'd wanted for Grace, for a price he thought was manageable in the "pineapple infested hell" he'd landed in. Of course, it had been a long while since he'd actually complained about the island that he now called home.
There were plenty of pictures hanging on the walls of Grace, and I couldn't help but let a ghost of a smile cross my face. That little girl was Danny's whole world and she had quickly become just as important to all of us. Five-0 had become the ohana we'd all been searching for.
"I'll put your stuff in the bedroom," Danny's voice came from behind me.
"What? No," I shook my head grabbing Danny's arm forcing him to stop. "I'm not taking your bed."
"Who said anything about you taking my bed?" Danny asked, a devilish smirk finding its way onto his handsome face.
I could feel my eyebrows shoot up at his comment, as I followed him into the bedroom. It was nice, but I definitely could tell it was a man's room. There were more pictures of Grace on the dresser, only to be offset by several ties scattered across the top of the dresser in front of them. Some sports memorabilia hung on the walls, but other than that, the room was impeccably clean. Even the bed had been made.
"If I'm not sleeping in here, then why are you putting my stuff in here?"
"We are going to share," he responded shrugging his shoulder.
"Share?"
"We're both perfectly responsible adults, with very important jobs that don't allow us to have achy backs because one of us decided to sleep on a very uncomfortable couch."
"If it's uncomfortable, why did you buy it?" I asked a smirk forming on my lips.
"That, is completely beside the point," Danny said as he looked at me like I was nuts.
I smiled before leaning against the door watching as he became flustered for a moment, before he instantly calmed down. It was almost like he knew I was trying to get under his skin. He shook his head before a smile eased over his lips as he stared at me. I wish I could read minds, so that I knew what he was thinking about. The way he was gazing at me and moving ever so slowly towards me told me a little of what was going on, but I wanted to be sure.
He finally stopped when he was just a few inches from me. A part of me wanted to close the gap, and let my instincts take over, but his next move stopped that train of thought like a bucket of icy cold water as my eyes followed his hand as it descended into the pocket of his slacks and pulled out the pill bottle he had hidden from Steve earlier. Fucking pills.
"Figured you might want these back," he said softly as he placed them in my hand and gently wrapped my fingers around the bottle, all while staring into my eyes as if he was now trying to read my thoughts.
My mind was racing, but I couldn't find the ability to say anything to him. It felt like my body had gone numb just staring down at his hand still closed over my fingers and that damn plastic bottle. I slowly eased my hand from Danny's grasp so I could stare down at my name on the bottle. I knew this moment had ended, but I was sure that something more needed to be said, Danny deserved more than a pile of excuses and it was the only way we could move forward. So, I gave a stiff nod as I resigned myself to taking a chance, to really letting Danny see what was going on inside my head and my heart. At least if he ran screaming, I would know that he had done so with everything on the table, and not because I had lied to him.
"Thanks." I whispered as I set the bottle on the dresser before I finally let my eyes connect with his. "Especially for earlier. The last thing I need is Steve hounding me about them..."
"You don't need them," he stated gently his hand reaching out and touching my arm before he started to speak again. "Look, about what I said this morning-"
"Don't apologize," I whispered. "You were right...About the pills. They are a security blanket. You're right about me not wanting to let anyone in. You're right about all of it, Danny. The nightmares, the guilt, and the incessant need to protect everyone that I love. These are all things I need help with. I need your help, but you just have to give me time to wrap my head around it."
Danny nodded before he moved his hand up my left arm and over the scarring that covered my shoulder. Even through the shirt that concealed the old scar, his touch still sent an uncontrollable shiver down my spine. For the first time, I actually didn't find the idea of someone seeing those scars completely abhorrent. I still wasn't excited about that prospect, but I wasn't in a blind panic either and I knew that was due in large part to Danny. He pulled his hand away from my shoulder before reaching up and gently brushing some of my hair out of my face.
"Danny," I whispered.
"Mmmhmm?" was his response as he came closer, his face just centimeters from mine.
"There's no turning back if we do this," I muttered as I stared up into his eyes looking for any sign of hesitation.
"Who said I wanted to turn back?" He whispered as he leaned in towards me, his warm breath ghosted over the skin just beneath my ear seconds before his lips set my heart to race.
Danny's P.O.V.
Danny stood there quietly in the doorway watching Jules. He could see her chest rising and falling steadily indicating that she had fallen asleep. It was a welcomed sight, especially after the last few days she had been dealing with. The most gratifying part of seeing her sound asleep was that the sleeping pills he had returned to her earlier lay untouched on the dresser.
Jules' dark wavy hair was lying in tangles around her face a product of how often she shifted in her sleep. Her skin was finally starting to regain some of the color it had lost from her restless days, and the shadows under her lashes were beginning to recede. her expressive green eyes remained hidden by sleep, but they were regaining some of the spark that he'd noticed in the old pictures Steve had shown him from well before the time when he'd met her. It was a look that he missed, even though he'd never personally witnessed it. The pains of her past had already begun to put out the light behind her eyes by the time he'd come into her life. That renewed spark filled him with a sense of pride, because deep down he knew that he'd been at least partially responsible for its return and that felt pretty good.
She was allowing hope back into her life. He got through to her and she was finally starting to let him in. The warrior she had become was finally letting him get past the walls she'd surrounded herself with.
As Danny watched the peaceful rise and fall of her chest, he was instantly brought back to the hours that had passed since they arrived at his place. When he'd offered his place to her, he hadn't planned on any of this, but now that he'd had a taste of what his life could be like...he wasn't going to give up without a fight. And if this night had been any indication, it was going to be a fight. Though now, he knew it was going to be well worth it.
A few hours earlier
"Danny," she whispered.
"Mmmhmm," was my response as I moved closer.
"There's no turning back if we do this," She said as if she expected me to turn away now.
"Who said I wanted to turn back?" I whispered incredulously as I finally did the one thing that I couldn't get out of my head since Steve had so rudely interrupted our first kiss.
I had kissed a number of women in my lifetime, but this kiss just reconfirmed what I thought after that first kiss. This woman was different. She was beautiful, funny, smart, tenacious, aggravating, infuriating, stubborn, intriguing and absolutely unforgettable.
My mind was telling me to slow things down, but my heart was telling me to grab hold with both hands and never let go. My heart won when a sigh broke through the bubble of bliss that surrounded us, and before I knew it my lips were on a quest to coax that throaty sigh from her as quickly and as often as possible.
My fingers, they followed my heart, too. Ghosting down her spine in a quest to feel the warmth of her skin. Would her tan touch the skin I couldn't see? Was it as warm as it felt through the thin cotton of her t-shirt? These were questions I had to find an answer to.
"Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?" I asked as I tried to regain a little bit of control.
It took a moment for her to answer and I almost laughed at the breathless quality of her beautiful voice, "N-no. It's just been a while. I'm a little nervous."
Her eyes fell to the ground, and I vowed to put a stop to the self consciousness that plagued her in that moment.
Her hands fell to my tie as she shifted the knot and slipped a couple of buttons free. Her hands found their way into my hair next, and that was enough to produce a groan. Not because I cared in the least about the disheveled state of my normally perfect hair, but because the tiniest hint of her tongue poked out between her kiss ravaged lips in concentration and that ounce of control I'd managed to regain slipped from my grasp again. God, she was going to be the death of me...but, it was going to be a good death.
Of course, that control fell further from my grip when she licked those lips before planting them firmly and aggressively.
It was comfortable, it was easy, and suddenly it was the most frightening thing I'd ever done as I let my fingertips brush over that tiny sliver of skin that was laid bare when her arms wrapped around my neck. Nerves hadn't made their presence known since I was a preteen fumbling around in the dark, but the tiny goosebumps that rose on her skin brought me back to that feeling. Were we really going to do this? Should we? God knows that I wanted to, but everything was happening so fast.
I knew that shedding clothing was more than likely not going to be as simple as it sounded with Jules. I was certain that the demons of her past would make an appearance at some point, invited or not. As if my thought had provoked said demons, her hand shot out to stop the progress of her shirt as my hand contact with the tiny sliver of perfectly warm skin.
"Shh." I whispered as I watched her pull and tug the cotton back into place. "I won't do anything that makes you uncomfortable, but I need you to promise me that you'll tell me what you're thinking about."
My heart felt like it was on the verge of shattering as I watched the pained expression flit across her face. Tears clung tightly to her lashes, and I was trying desperately to decipher if they were from fear or some other emotion entirely. I wanted to believe that the tears were a sign of hope, and trust, but until she confirmed my thoughts it was difficult not to entertain the idea that they were out of fear.
"Hey. Hey. You're not supposed to cry. That's not how this is supposed to go." I said with a light tone as I tried to ease a smile from her lips before I pressed a kiss to her tear stained cheek.
The smile came slowly, but it was what happened next that very nearly sent me staggering back to the floor. I knew without a shadow of doubt the second the garment went sailing just to the right of my head, and suddenly I was face to face with this stunning woman with her scars on full display. I thought her hands had gripped the edges of her shirt in a show of insecurity, but it had been a show of bravery.
I wasn't sure what the right move was, but I was fairly certain staring wasn't the appropriate response. So, I leaned forward and pressed my fingertips to the pink and white streak that puckered over her shoulder and exited the other side. I knew exactly how she'd gotten it, and yet that didn't even begin to prepare me for the sudden jolt of pain I felt knowing that she carried around this blatant reminder of everything she'd lost. Yet, this woman soldiered on with her head held high.
After a moment, my hands began a path towards her wrist as I caressed the sunken zipper of a scar that barely concealed the hardware holding flesh and bone together. Hearing her story, anyone would assume the pain had been excruciating, but as I looked at the evidence and turned her palm up to reveal a more jagged wound where bone tore through flesh I knew that there were no words to accurately explain the worst of it.
All I wanted to do was take some of that pain from her, but I knew that was an impossible task, so instead I just pressed my lips to the scar as I stared into her eyes. I could feel the uneasy tremors as she exposed her deepest fears to me. I needed her to know that in spite of every wound, both seen and unseen could never diminish what I saw in the woman before me.
As I followed the scar on her arm back up to her shoulder, pressing my lips to all that had been laid bare, I allowed my fingers to trace the lines that traversed her back. I could feel the emotion balled up in the back of my throat. It was borderline suffocating as I attempted to stifle the tears that were trying to escape my own eyes.
"Does it hurt?" I wondered aloud as my lips pressed against the angry mark on her shoulder.
"No. Not so much." She whispered before she took my hand and pressed it lightly to her temple, "It's more up here."
"Most pain lingers far longer in the head and the heart than it ever does in the places we can see it." I said as I pressed my other hand over her rapidly fluttering heart.
"And you? Where does your pain linger?" She asked cautiously.
"I'd bet in the same place as yours." I responded solemnly before taking our hands and pressing them over my own racing heart.
In that moment, a small tear fell free from my lashes as I watched a genuine smile form on her lips.
"It looks good on you." I shared.
"Hmm?"
"The smile. It looks good on you."
Of course, it only got a little brighter.
"Yours looks even better." She answered as her fingers traced over my lips before her lips followed.
Once our lungs started to burn from expending all of our oxygen on the kiss, her lips quickly found the pulse point against the side of my neck, while her hands went to work on the shirt and tie that she'd messed with earlier. This time, she wasted no effort as she slipped the knot free and dropped the tie to the ground. The shirt followed seconds later before I started to back towards the bed.
When I reached my destination, I pulled her lithe frame to stand between my legs and reveled in the warmth of her skin as it finally pressed to my own. A spark that had lingered for some time was about to ignite, and then I felt the shudder move across her flesh. This time, there was no silencing the warning that came, I just knew it was time to slow this down. There would be no regrets between us, I would see to that. If that meant slowing things down, then I would make sure that happened.
I slowly pushed back, brushing her hair over her shoulder and glancing into her eyes.
"As much as I would love to take this to the next level, I don't think either of us are really ready for this. I want it. You. So badly, but you and I...we're not a passing phase. We have the time to do this the right way, at the right time. And that time, it shouldn't be because someone broke into your house."
"What? It's not becauseā¦" She started before I silenced her with a quick kiss and continued my argument.
"Listen to me! You always think you know what I'm going to say, but you don't. So can you let me finish, please?"
She nodded in acquiescence, but I could see the hurt hidden behind those sad eyes.
"I don't know when it happened, and god knows you haven't made it easy...but, you are a part of my life. My family. This isn't something that I planned on, it's not even something I thought I wanted, and yet here you are." I said as I put a hand over my heart.
"What are you saying?" She asked with a hopeful expression.
"Somewhere along the way, in spite of your penchant for hiding things from me, that crazy McGarrett streak that seems to have been passed through osmosis from Steve to you, and your outrageous disregard for your own personal safety, I have fallen hopelessly in love with you."
A tear fell from her lashes as she simply stared at me. Not a word fell from her lips for what felt like an eternity, until she shoved me hard and started to yell.
"Damn it! You were not supposed to see me, Danny! I knew from the first time I saw you that you were going to be trouble, and boy was I dead on!"
I started to feel outrage bubble to the surface as I opened my mouth to speak, only to be silence by her hand as she walked over to the dresser and placed her palms on its surface. The muscles in her back flexed as she tried to regain some composure before she said, "You saw things that even Steve had missed. I knew when you took the time to wipe John's blood from my skin that you would be both my biggest advocate and my worst nightmare." She said as she very nearly vibrated with an emotion I had yet to place.
"Nightmare?" I asked.
"Yes, nightmare. You have no idea how hard I'd worked to place all the pieces of my past into neat little boxes and stowed them in the darkest places of my mind. I was doing just fine with that. And then you came into my life! You with all of your questions and feelings. You just couldn't accept that some things were meant to stay in the past."
"I can accept that, but good luck compartmentalizing your whole existence in a box! Last time I checked, that's called a COFFIN!" I shouted back as I approached her.
I was angry. Not at her, but at the circumstances that made her doubt herself, and me. As soon as she was within reach I grabbed hold of her good shoulder and spun her to face me before I shouted, "I won't let you put me away somewhere because you don't think you're worthy of being loved. Carson is gone, and nothing can change that. I would, in a heartbeat if it was within my power, even if it meant I had to give you up, But, if you think for one second that he would want you to memorialize his death by killing every chance you have at happiness, you are out of your damn mind!"
She stood in stunned silence for what seemed like ten minutes, the only sign that she had even heard the words I'd shouted was the slight quiver of her lower lip that she was trying her best to stifle as she bit down on it. Then, she broke the silence as she stared down at the ground, "Is that what you think I've been doing?"
"What?"
"Killing my chance at happiness?"
"Actively, no, but subconsciously I think you've done an exceptional job of burying your heart right along side of him. Your refusal to let yourself have those emotional bonds isn't paying a debt to Carson, it's giving a needless death an even more tragic ending. You need to start living again. You need to take a chance on love, if not with me, then with someone."
She considered that for a moment before she looked up at me with tear filled eyes and whispered, "You're a fucking idiot."
I looked at her incredulously, had she really just insulted me after I poured my heart out to her?
"You're an idiot, if you think for a second that anyone else could ever hold a candle to you, Danny Williams. God, I can't even decide if I want to kill you or kiss you!" She said as she smashed her lips against mine in a passion fueled kiss.
"I guess that means you decided on kiss." I said as I ducked out of reach for the swing I knew was coming.
"How could I possibly kill the man that I love?" She said with a shy little smile as I lunged towards her and swung her up into my arms before dropping her back onto my bed.
With that behind us, we shared lingering kisses and let our fingers explore the newly exposed flesh at our disposal, but the stresses of the evening at Jules' and the heated debated had doused the flames to a more manageable level. They were far from extinguished, but sleep managed to eclipse desire for the time being, and I couldn't have been bothered to care as the woman folded herself around me, and pushed her way even deeper into my heart.
Her soft, even breaths puffed against my skin and lulled me to follow her into sleep.
I'd been asleep for an hour or two before the sounds of a passing storm had jolted me awake. I'd managed to extricate myself from the warm and inviting woman sleeping beside me, but my eyes were determined to map out every inch of her luminous skin that they could drink in.
Present
The sound of his phone buzzing against the counter cut through the silence of the home. Slowly he turned away from the sleeping beauty and walked towards the phone. checking the number before answering.
"Find anything?" Danny asked immediately.
"Hello is customary, Daniel. Having a good night?" Steve's voice came through the phone.
"Yes, Steven, it's such a wonderful evening," Danny replied back just as sarcastically. "Which brings me back to my initial question, have you found anything?"
"Kono pulled a couple of prints off the envelope, but nothing on the pictures. There's nothing that stands out in any of the photos. They're printed on regular printer paper that can be bought anywhere, same with the ink."
"So, we have nothing," Danny lowered his voice as he came to a stop in the center of the kitchen.
"How's she doing?" Steve's voice turned from business to personal.
Danny knew that shift, Steve had always played the protective older brother role in Jules' life from what he understood. He would call her every week to check in, no matter where he was. The two were practically siblings, not even a blood bond was stronger than what those two shared. They found themselves at odds with each other more often than not, but their love and devotion towards each other would put many families to shame.
"She's, uh, hanging in there."
"That doesn't sound convincing," Steve's voice growing tense at Danny's lack of description.
"She's tough, Steve. She's not going to let some psycho with pictures scare her."
"Yeah, a psycho with pictures that broke into her house, and nearly gave her a concussion," Steve retorted.
Normally, Steve was the levelheaded one with closely guarded control, Jules just brought the emotionally charge responses out in all of them. Danny parted his lips when he heard an anguished scream rip through the house. Without a second thought he raced towards the bedroom where Jules had been asleep earlier.
He could hear Steve shouting his name asking what was happening, but his concern was Jules.
"Gotta go. Call you in a few." Danny answered as he dropped the phone without disconnecting the call.
As he barreled through the doorway, he flipped on the light switch to see Jules still lying in bed. Her eyes clamped tightly shut as she thrashed around like she was trying to get away from something. He moved quickly to her side and climbed across to reach Jules, who was violently shaking with what he could only assume was fear.
"Jules!" he called out over her screams, catching her arms and forcing her to stop throwing them around.
He knew restraining her wasn't the best idea, but he had to wake her up, in any way possible. Her face was covered in a sheen of sweat that wasn't there a few minutes earlier. How had her peaceful sleep turned into a horrifying nightmare?
"Come on, Jules," Danny shook her hoping she would wake. "JULIA!"
He tried to hide the shock on his face as she gasped loudly, before her eyes snapped open. She shot up like the bed was burning her, and forced herself out of the bed. With Danny's hands still trapping her arms in his grasp, it sent them both crashing to the floor on her side of the bed. As they hit the ground, Jules immediately began struggling, not comprehending that Danny was the one holding her.
"Jules stop. Stop! It's me, it's Danny!" As soon as those words left his mouth, Jules went still. So much so, that it actually concerned him.
He loosened his grip on her when he realized she wasn't fighting back anymore. Danny detangled himself from her before pressing his back to the bed frame and watching as she sat up beside him, looking dazed and confused.
The horror was present in her eyes, she had the nightmare again. In a move he wasn't prepared for, Jules flung herself towards him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and pulling him into a bone crushing embrace. He instantly responded by wrapping his arms around her.
He could feel how tense her muscles were beneath his fingers as they lightly glazed over her skin. Her shoulder was still exposed revealing the gnarled skin where the Hesse Brothers had left their mark. He might have expected her to recoil at this realization, but whatever she had been dreaming about had scared her so badly that she wasn't thinking about any of her wounds being exposed to his view.
"Grab your shoes," Danny whispered softly loosening his grip Jules.
"What?" Her voice was raw.
"Come on," he pulled her up and helped look for her shoes.
Spotting them near her bags, he quickly grabbed them, leaning down to slip them on her feet much like he'd done for Gracie thousands of times before. It was strange seeing her so vulnerable. He had gotten glimpse before, but now it was like she had fallen into a catatonic state. She was letting him help her with menial tasks that she normally would have fought tooth and nail to do on her own.
Danny guided Jules out towards his car, locking the front door behind them. He thought about going back inside to grab his phone, but thought better of it when he saw her sitting in the passenger's seat. She looked so lost.
Pulling out of the driveway, he started towards the only place he knew would help ease her mind when there was nothing else that could.
The drive was short. Cutting the engine, he climbed out of the car letting the salty air surround him. He then walked over to the passenger side and opened it, letting Jules climb out on her own. She was coming back around, he could tell by the look in her eyes, but there was still something there, lingering just beyond the surface.
She climbed out of the car still in a semi-trance like state until the sound of the waves crashing against the sand met her ears. He could see the instant flip of that switch, as she whipped around to stare at the ocean.
In the dead of night, there was no one on this particular beach and even if there was, it wouldn't matter. She walked towards the sand stopping at the very edge, hesitating as Danny closed the passenger door before coming to a stop next her. She broke her stare out over the ocean and looked up at him, her dark green eyes registered confusion.
"The water has this way of calming you," Danny said with a shrug and motioning towards the blackened currents of water. "Figured it was just the thing you needed right now."
"You know, when my parents died, I spent an entire week with the McGarrett family. Before Doris faked her death, while I waited for Joe. He was training some new SEALs and couldn't come get me right away."
Danny watched silently, waiting for her to continue as she stared down at the cool sand in front of them. Her shoulders were no longer tense as she stepped out of her shoes, and into the sand.
Digging her toes into the cooling grains of sand and sea, Danny couldn't help but follow her lead. She sent a lazy smile in his direction, noticing he was barefoot as well, and in the sand no less.
"So, I spent that week on the beach," she continued. "Watched how happy people were and I just got angrier and angrier. My parents were dead, and they were running around like nothing had happened. Like my world hadn't been ripped apart, even though the world I'd known was far from what most of the beach goers had known. One day, the tide came in too fast and took me under while I was out trying to surf..."
"You were surfing at ten?" Danny asked a smile on his face imagining Jules at her preteens trying to surf.
"Mamo taught Steve, Mary, and I how to surf young. Besides, most kids in Hawaii come out surfing, I swear," she smiled as the wind blew some of her hair in her face. "When I went under, I kept thinking maybe it was time for me to go, too. As fate would have it, Steve had followed me that day. As soon as I went under, he jumped in the water and pulled me out. I had hit my head on the reef, getting a nice, deep gash as a souvenir. Steve carried me all the way to the hospital, and I knew in that moment, that he was always going to be there for me."
"He helped you heal," Danny stated understanding wholly where the story was leading.
Jules nodded before walking towards the water. Danny hesitated for an instant before deciding to stay by her side. Jules came to a stop just before the water's edge and started to speak again.
"From that day on, he always knew what to do and what to say to instantly make me feel better. He was the brother that I never got to have."
Danny turned his head to watch her as she spoke. He could hear it in her voice, the raw pain that came with her thoughts. Her left hand had begun to shake and before he could respond, her other hand reached over and stilled it. Her pain and anxiety were evident, but she was starting to work through it. She was opening up to him.
"Then what happened?" Danny asked almost dreading the answer.
"Korea happened. I was beaten and tortured to the point where I was sure I wasn't going to come back. After Steve got me out of Korea, he tried so hard to be my world again, but I couldn't do it. Things were completely different. I couldn't talk to him, or Joe about what I had done to Carson. I don't know why exactly, but I just couldn't share it with them. Then you came along. You were helping me heal those scars, long before you even knew I needed healing. And you started to do that without my knowledge and lord knows without my consent. I didn't want to be healed because I thought I deserved to suffer for the mistakes I'd made. Mistakes that had cost someone I loved their life."
Danny stood there shocked by the confession. He stayed on the sand as Jules moved slowly into the water. The moment he had met her, he could see how broken she was. She had watched Carson Riggs and John McGarrett die right before her eyes, but there was always something much deeper she wouldn't let him see. As time went on she opened up to him, but in his heart, he knew this was the last piece. This was the hope that she needed, the chance for her to move on and start to build the happiness that she had tried to forfeit to honor Carson.
The smile on her lips was contagious as he felt his own lips curve as he watched her kicked around some of the water. Nighttime trysts in the water were frowned upon, but she needed it. She needed to cleanse the last bit of darkness from her soul, she deserved it, and Danny deserved to see the girl she'd been before that darkness had started to consume her.
The sound of sand moving behind them caused Danny to turn quickly, his hand moving to his hip out of habit. Even though his weapon had been left in the car, the instinct took over. His shoulders relaxed when he realized that it was Steve moving down the beach towards them. Jules remained oblivious to the new presence, still mesmerized by the sand and surf, so Danny just waited for Steve's words to break through her happy little bubble. He didn't have the heart to interrupt her, what with the bright smile that painted her pretty features.
"I take it you're both all right," Steve asked.
"Nightmares. They really shook her up this time," Danny responded as he glanced back to see Jules was still blissfully unaware of their guest. "How'd you know we'd be here?"
Steve shrugged as he crossed his arms over his chest saying, "I stopped by your apartment. Your phone was still sitting on the bed, so I tracked your car."
"You tracked my car?" Danny asked with a scandalized pitch to his voice.
"Well, there was screaming and you didn't call back, so I..." he trailed off as he waved his hands as if that would draw all the right conclusions.
"You panicked," Danny smirked turning from Steve to look over at Jules who had spotted them both standing there.
"I panicked. Jules and Mary are all I've got left," Steve admitted.
"What about Doris?"
"I'm still on the fence about Doris," Steve said as he nodded towards Jules who was walking towards them.
"Steve what are you doing here?" She asked, looking between the two of them.
"We found a match to the prints on the pictures," Steve responded, his voice becoming firm and business like once more. "Does the name Sean Reedus mean anything to you?"
A HUGE THANK YOU to my beta she is the most rocking person on the planet! Also a huge thank you to those who added this story to their alerts or favs! Also to francis2 who reviewed you are awesome! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. PLEASE review so I know what you guys are thinking about Danny and Jules' relationship! You guys rock!
