Chapter 9
Steve watched from his office as Danny walked into the main Five-0 area late Friday afternoon. Though walked wasn't the right word, really. Relaxed swagger, maybe. His partner had been in an unusually good mood the past few days, and Steve didn't think it was just because they'd had a calm week. He still wasn't talking, yet, though. Well over five years working together, and Danny still kept pieces of his personal life close hold until he was ready to talk about them. Which generally happened during a car chase, hostage situation, or when someone was shooting at them.
Maybe Danny talked about his personal life more than Steve realized.
Steve watched as Danny stopped to talk with Chin briefly, then clapped him on the shoulder in thanks, and walked towards Steve's office. He saw Chin smile fondly at the blond man as he walked away and wondered what Danny had asked.
Danny pushed open Steve's door and stuck his head in. "You busy?"
Steve shook his head. "Just going over paperwork. Thank god for slow weeks."
Danny walked in and dropped into a chair. "I'll second that. I'm going to take advantage of being caught up and go run some errands. And since it is slow - and I realize I may jinx it just by saying this, but hopefully tomorrow will be like today - I'm thinking of taking tomorrow off and going out of town. I'll be back sometime on Saturday." Danny held Steve's gaze calmly, and Steve realized this was important to him, even though Steve wasn't going to get the full story.
Steve shrugged. "Yeah, okay."
Danny studied him for a moment. "Maybe you should take a day or two off, too."
Steve scoffed. "We can't both be gone."
"You know, I'm not sure if I'd worry more if you're working or if you're off." Danny gestured exaggerated air quotes around off. "You're a trouble magnet either way, babe." He leaned back in the chair. "Please just remember to take Chin or Kono or Lou with you if we get a case? Please?"
Steve smirked. "Since you asked nicely." He jerked his chin at Danny in question "Where are you going anyway? Taking Gracie somewhere fun?"
Danny looked down slightly and tilted his head. "Ah, no. Grace is with Rachel until Sunday." He hesitated, and Steve looked at him, eyebrows raised. "I'm going to up to the North Shore. With Cassie."
"Cassie?" Steve was confused for a second, then remembered. "You're going out of town with a woman you met three days ago?"
"Four, actually." Steve started to say something else and Danny held up a hand. "I know. Three, four - same thing, really. We've been out the last two nights, and I've gotten to know her pretty well."
Steve leaned forward. "You've been out on two dates with her?"
"Yes. Well, two...three; we're still arguing over the exact number." When Steve just stared at his partner, a little dumbfounded, Danny sighed. "There's something there, Steve. It's crazy, and maybe I'm setting myself up because there's no way this can work, but I think I'd be making a big mistake if I just walked away." He paused and looked intently at Steve. "I don't want to be afraid of whatever this is."
Steve held Danny's eyes for a long moment, then nodded. "Good for you. You should go."
Kono walked in and said, "Hey, boss. I saw Danny leaving the parking lot. Everything okay?"
Steve had been thinking over the last few days. Kono's question snapped the last bit into place. "You knew."
Kono frowned at him. "I knew, what?"
"Danny. The woman from NASA."
"Cassie?"
Steve nodded impatiently. "You knew he's been out with her."
"I knew he'd run into her at the Governor's thing on Monday. When you say out with her, you mean like a date?"
"Yes, like a date."
Kono grinned, vindicated. "Excellent." Steve raised his eyebrows at her. "Come on, Steve. Danny deserves some happiness."
"And you think a woman who lives several thousand miles away will make him happy?"
"I think he really likes her. And I think he'd rather be happy for a week than not at all."
"You don't think it will be worse when she leaves?"
Kono looked at him for a long moment, then shrugged. "I think Danny is an adult and can take care of himself. I think I haven't seen him smile like that in a long time. I think anything can happen in a week."
"Fine." Steve shook his head. "But I want a background on her. Just in case."
Cassie looked down at her phone and smiled. She sent a quick text back and grabbed her stuff, waving to the other folks in the room who were also packing up. She had to slow herself down so as not to run out the door, which would not have been very adult-like. But it was all she could do not to skip out the door into the sunshine, warm ocean breeze, and the man she knew was waiting for her in the parking lot.
True to his word, he was waiting for her just outside the door. He popped the trunk when he saw her, and then took her bags from her, placing them inside. "You look happy," he said, brushing his hand over her arm.
"I am."
He opened the car door for her, even though she gave him a look, and stood there until she got in. He closed her door, walked around the car, and slid behind the wheel of the car. He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot onto the road. Cassie was settled into the passenger seat with her head leaned back, eyes half closed, still smiling. "Everything go okay today?" he asked.
She rolled her head over to look at him. "The launch was nominal, the mission was within parameters, and the landing was on target."
He laughed. "So, perfect?"
"Damn perfect." She sighed. "And I am in a tropical paradise with a hot guy driving a hot car and have absolutely no responsibility for anything work-related for the next forty-eight hours." Danny looked over and arched an eyebrow at her. "What? Like you don't know that already," she scoffed.
"That you have no work responsibility for the next forty-eight hours? Sure."
"Smartass."
"And here I thought you were saying my ass was more than just smart."
She smiled. "Now you're fishing for compliments."
He pulled over into the mostly empty parking lot he'd been looking for and put the car into park. Cassie looked at him, puzzled. He turned in his seat, leaned over, and kissed her deeply. He pulled back before things got too intense, and leaning his head against hers, said, "Hi there."
Dazed, she replied, "Hi. That was nice." She reached up and touched his face, running her fingers over his jawline. "Still fishing for compliments, though."
He chuckled, low and amused. He turned his face and kissed her palm, then said, "So where are we going?"
Cassie got them to the hotel, where they checked in and dropped their stuff in the room. For lunch, Cassie took him to a little place one of the Navy guys working the launch had recommended, and then they walked up the beach watching the waves and the surfers.
Danny insisted they go back to the hotel for a couple of hours so Cassie could take a nap. She didn't object since she'd been up since around 4 a.m. for work and didn't want to fall asleep early again that night.
He sat on the wide balcony outside the room while Cassie slept and called his daughter.
"Hey, Monkey," he said when she answered the phone.
"Hi, Danno! Guess what I'm watching right now?"
"Hopefully something educational."
"Actually, it is. I'm watching video of the NASA mission."
"That's great, Grace. How is it?" Even though Danny had heard all about the mission - including some behind the scenes drama he was certain hadn't made it onto the broadcast - he was interested in his kid's take on it.
"Cassie was right. You can't see much, but it's cool when it splash lands in the ocean and they bring the boat over to pick it up. Hey, Dad, do you think I can talk to Cassie again to ask her some questions?"
Danny looked over at the woman sleeping a few feet from where he was sitting and made a quick decision. "I'll ask her, but I bet she'd like that. I told you I saw her Monday, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, I've seen her a couple of times since then, too."
Danny heard a little pause. "Danno, did you ask her out?"
"I did."
He heard a sigh from his teenage daughter. "Did you do it right? Did she say yes? You took her to a nice, romantic restaurant, didn't you?"
Danny wanted to laugh, but answered seriously. "She did say yes. I took her to Quinn's…" he heard another loud sigh from the other end of the phone, "and then I took her for a drive and a picnic the next night."
"Good move, Dad. I bet she liked that."
"I think she did." Danny didn't flaunt any relationships he had in front of Grace, but since she'd gotten older, he hadn't tried to hide them either. Especially since she'd become a teenager, she'd asked him a lot more often why he didn't date. He usually told her it was tough with his job, which was true, and that he didn't want to take any of his free time away from her, which was also true. Which at first got him a hug, and now mostly got him a hug and a very teenage eye roll. And he realized that he was nervous for his daughter's approval on this particular date. Danny knew she thought Cassie was cool, but cool-person-from-NASA and cool-person-dating-my-dad were two different things. "I, uh, actually am seeing her again this weekend."
Grace sounded excited. "Where are you taking her?"
"Tonight, a little place on the North Shore. Kamekona recommended it."
"Daaad. You can't take her to a food truck!"
Danny did laugh at that. "He promised me it's nice and romantic and looks out on the water. I checked it out online, and it's legit."
"Okay, that's better." She sounded mollified.
"Thank you." Danny was glad Grace approved of his choice of location, but he wanted to make sure she was okay with his choice of date. "Grace, are you… okay with me dating Cassie while she's here?"
"Yes." The answer from the other end was quick and sure. "She's your type, Dad."
"My type?" Once again, Grace had surprised him. "How do you know I have a type? How do you even know what types are?"
He could hear the eye roll through the phone. "Because I pay attention, Danno. She's really smart and likes to talk to kids, and she likes pizza. She's definitely your type."
Danny pursed his lips and nodded, thoughtful about what Grace had decided was important. "Huh. I guess that is my type."
"Of course it is, Dad."
"Okay then. I'm glad you're okay with it. I'm still picking you up on Sunday and you're staying with me Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday while your mom and Stan are out of town."
"Got it. Can we have dinner with Cassie one night so I can talk to her about today?"
At one time, Danny would have been nervous about introducing his daughter to any woman he was seeing, but Grace had already met Cassie and, it seemed, approved of her. So he said, "I don't know her work schedule yet, but I'll see what I can set up."
"Thanks, Dad. I gotta go now. Mom's yelling at me to get dressed for the party." Rachel had asked if she could change their schedule so Grace could attend a dinner she and Stan were throwing for Stan's business partners that evening and then some event the next day.
"Listen to your mother and go get ready. Be good tonight, okay?" Danny knew that Grace hated attending these things. "We'll have whatever you want for dinner on Sunday."
"Thanks, Danno. Love you!"
"Love you, too, Monkey."
Danny hung up the phone and saw that while he was talking to Grace a text had come in, which read: FYI-I knew it all along. Hope you're enjoying your day off. Saw the launch went well. Tell Cassie I said hi!
He shook his head and sent a quick note back: We'll make a detective out of you yet. All good here. See you Monday.
He sat outside for a bit longer, then checking the time, went inside. Cassie was still asleep, but she'd asked Danny to not let her sleep too long. He sat down on the bed next to her, and gently brushed her hair off her face. "Hey, babe, time to wake up."
She stirred and Danny waited until she opened her eyes before he said, "Hi, sleepyhead."
"Hey, you." She smiled and turned to look at the clock by the bed, which caused the blankets to slip down and reveal bare shoulders under a tank top. Danny couldn't help reaching out to touch her, running his hand down her bare skin. He rested his hand on the bed next to her hip, leaning on it. She put her hand on his arm, and rubbed her thumb over his skin.
"Sorry to fall asleep on you yet again."
"Not a problem. I needed to call Grace, so you gave me time to do that." He put his other hand over hers. "She was watching the video of the launch when I called."
Cassie woke up a little more. "What did she think?"
"She said you were right, but it was still cool to see." He tapped her hand gently. "Remind me later - there's something she wants to ask you." Danny could see that she was about to offer to talk to Grace then, so he stopped her by saying, "She, um, approves of me asking you out, by the way. Though she was very concerned that I wasn't taking you to a romantic enough place." He shook his head. "And I'm pretty sure I have to add her to the cabal. She told me that you are, and I quote, my type."
Cassie grinned. "That's pretty high praise."
Danny nodded. "I'd rather not think about how my daughter knows about types and especially about my types."
"She's your kid. She knows you." She squeezed his arm and said seriously, "I'm glad she's okay with it."
"Yeah me, too." He lifted a hand in a half shrug. "Oh, and Kono says hi."
Cassie laughed. "Did you finally tell her?"
"No," he shook his head, "I'm guessing she talked to Steve, who, by the way, is probably running a background check on you."
She rolled her eyes. "I could have saved him some trouble and brought him a copy of my SF-86."
"Oh, no, don't save him trouble. Please." He hesitated. "You okay with that?"
"Danny, I work for the federal government. It's not that big a deal. I think it's kind of sweet, actually, in a boundary-challenged sort of way."
Danny flashed a hand in an a-ha flourish. "You haven't even met my partner yet, and already you understand him."
She stretched again, which sort of short-circuited Danny's brain, and looked at the clock. "Hey, how long do we have til we need to get going?"
Danny shrugged, trying to think. "We've got plenty of time. You want to try and get some more sleep?"
Cassie tugged his sleeve and looked at him, eyes dark and warm. "Sleep wasn't exactly what I had in mind…" She tugged again and he followed and even though they had plenty of time, they still ended up almost being late for their dinner reservation.
As they sat eating dessert, Danny made a mental note to stop by the shrimp truck just to tell Kamekona thank you. The space was lit mostly by candles in glass lanterns and fairy lights wound through the dark wood rafters, and the glass walls were folded open in the best Hawaiian tradition of an undivided indoor/outdoor space. They sat at a small table where the breeze was gentle and sound of the waves was the only noise.
When they'd arrived, the host had greeted Danny by name and invited them to follow him to their table. As they sat down, a server stepped up and placed two clear highball glasses on the table. The server stepped away and the host noted that the drinks were the house punch for them to enjoy while they looked at the menu.
Danny gave the drink a bit of a side-eye, and Cassie laughed. She tasted the brightly colored drink first, informing him that it was safe and pineapple-free.
Cassie studied the menu, and Danny studied her. She raised her eyes once but he'd only grinned at her, so she shook her head and went back to looking over the menu. Danny did look up when a man wearing chef whites stopped at their table. He introduced himself, and chatted with them for a few minutes about their dinner. He offered suggestions about things both on the menu and a few specialties that weren't listed, and told them to take their time, he was going to send out a few snacks to start, and when they were ready to order, their server would be right there. He asked Danny to give his regards to Kamekona, and left them to enjoy their drinks and appetizers, which appeared as he left the table.
Cassie raised her eyebrows in question, and Danny shook his head. "I would love to say I planned all this, but this was a recommendation from a friend, and I'm assuming he made a phone call."
"Your friends have good taste." She said, looking around the room. Then she smiled at him. "And you have good friends."
Danny nodded. "I do at that."
Once they'd tried the food and ordered their main course and wine, they talked. Danny was still surprised at how easy it was to talk with someone he'd known for such a short time. Even when there was a quiet moment, it wasn't awkward or weird, just both of them taking a breath. And he knew it should have felt like they were moving fast, but Danny felt comfortable with Cassie.
He knew enough about people having observed them for years, and he could tell that she trusted him. She was comfortable around him. And then there was the not-insignificant matter of physical attraction. And there was definitely plenty of that, he thought, staring at bare skin framed by a dark red off-the-shoulders blouse. He'd watched her dress earlier, and had been turned on by the thought of taking that top off her later that night.
And from the amused look on her face, she knew exactly the effect it was having on him now. She reached out and slipped her hand into his, and he enjoyed the sense of touching her.
Over dinner, they talked about food and books and movies. Danny learned that she was, of course, a sci-fi fan; he joked that he was taking notes on dinner in case he ever wanted to open a restaurant.
After dessert, and a silent argument over the check, which Danny won, they were offered the opportunity to have coffee on the restaurant's tiny deck, which was built over the sand and almost out to the water. The deck had tall carved stools where they could sit and watch the ocean while drinking coffee grown down the road and roasted by the restaurant.
"I have to tell Jen - my sister in law - about this place. She's been trying to convince my brother to plan a vacation to Hawaii, but he's so not excited about the idea."
Danny laughed. "Sounds like he and I would get along. You said he's in southern Virginia? Is your hometown there?"
"We grew up in Charlottesville, which is a little more central-ish Virginia. He moved to Danville after college - well, after he married Jen."
"Ah, so you're a Cavalier."
Danny was steering the conversation away from family, knowing where that would go and not wanting to have that talk at that moment. He knew Cassie would understand, but it was a good night, and he didn't want to take any of that away.
She saw the shift, and let it go. "No, I am a West Virginia Mountaineer, thank you very much." She saw surprise on his face. "I know, UVA is a great school, but I didn't want to go to college down the street from my parents. WVU has a great aerospace engineering program, and I liked it there."
"Where did you go to grad school?"
"Georgia Tech. I loved Atlanta; lived there awhile before grad school. But the goal was NASA, so staying there wasn't an option."
Danny leaned toward her, interested. "So you've lived in DC since then?"
She shook her head. "I worked in Cleveland at Glenn for a few years, then did a detail at Marshall in Alabama. Moved to DC while I did another detail working for the Air Force at the Pentagon. Went across the river to Headquarters after that, so I've been in DC for around eight years now."
Danny pursed his lips, impressed. "Did you ever get tired of moving?"
She thought about it. "Sometimes, yes. The space world is pretty small, so it wasn't like I felt out of place anywhere I was working. I was happy to be know that I would be in DC long enough to put down some roots, though there's a better than even chance that I'll get asked to take a position at another NASA center in the next few years." She shrugged. "It's the price of more responsibility."
Danny heard something in her voice. He asked, "You ever think about doing something else?"
She gave him a wry look, and he held up a hand. "Promise, I'm not getting anywhere close to that topic." He dropped his hand. "You just sounded a little… sad when you said that."
She sighed. "I love my job, but yeah, I've thought that one day, maybe I should do something different." She tilted her head to study him. "Have you ever thought about doing something else?"
"Sure." She looked surprised, so he explained. "It's not that I want a different job, but eventually it's retire or work a desk. And, right now at least, a desk is not an option I like."
"So you were serious about the restaurant."
He rocked a hand from side to side. "Eh, maybe? I mean, it's fun to think about it, but whether I'd actually want to do it? I don't know. I'm still happy where I am, and I hope that decision is still well down the road."
She leaned back and studied him. He looked back and cocked an eyebrow. She grinned. "I'm imagining you in a chef's hat."
He slid off the stool and moved in front of her, pushing her knees apart just enough to stand between her legs. He heard her breath catch, and leaned in to kiss her. "Want to know what I'm imagining you in?"
She looped her arms around his neck. "Bet I can guess. Take me back to the hotel and let's see what we can do about that."
