I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Note: Thank you for all the fantastic reviews ...
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O
Later that evening, just before dinner, C.J. found himself face to face with the boy who he'd seen in the photographs with Danny. He knew that the boy's name was Charlie and that Charlie was Danny's son. He also now knew that Danny had a daughter. Her name was Grace, but she was older and away. C.J. had been told all of that earlier in the day when they had all visited with Mr. and Mrs. Lee so he understood that Charlie would be coming over to visit his father. And at first, C.J. had been excited. But now uncertain of Charlie because he was right there with an Iron Man backpack over one shoulder and what looked like a boxed game in his hands, C.J. didn't know what to do.
"Hi," Charlie seemed to say and C.J. smiled back, shyly finger signing a quick 'hi' of his own until Charlie thrust the game under his very nose. Startled, C.J. refused to take the box. He missed what Charlie said next, too, and confused, C.J. backed up fast, practically crashing into Steve's legs. A second later, both Steve and Danny were on their knees between the two boys.
"Go slow," Danny seemed to tell Charlie, using his hands in a downwards motion before turning to C.J. with a big smile. He rolled his eyes dramatically towards the ceiling, laughing with one hand resting gently on his son's head and the other pointing to the game.
"It's okay," Danny spoke slowly enough for C.J. to read his lips, adding a thumbs-up sign for good measure. But it was Steve who sealed the deal.
'Play,' Steve signed after tapping C.J.'s shoulder. 'Go have fun. Go play, C.J.'
His eyes were laughing and C.J. smiled up to him. The finger sign for play looked like two shaka signs side by side. It was one that Mrs. Lee had shown both Danny and Steve that very same day and C.J. gave a hesitant nod until Charlie pushed the box into his father's hands. Charlie looked at C.J., excited and his own smile huge as he tried to copy the shaka-like sign for himself.
'Play!' Charlie signed quickly, practically jumping in place. When his Uncle Steve told him that he'd gotten it right, Charlie grabbed the game box back and pushed it into C.J.'s arms. He pointed to the top, his excitement catchy and C.J.'s mouth opened in surprise when he realized what he was holding. It wasn't a game really, but a new Lego set with pictures of Iron Man and the Hulk on it ... and Captain America ... and C.J.'s eyes widened because he couldn't believe it. The biggest picture on the box with all of the Avengers was a jet ... with rockets!
'Play!' Charlie signed again, apparently giggling at his success as he grabbed C.J.'s arm to tug him to follow. 'Come on! Let's go!' He said as he looked at C.J., smiling and happy, his voiced words no problem for C.J. to read and understand at all as he shouted again, "let's go! my room!"
Before he knew it, C.J. was running after Charlie, cradling the special box to his chest. His smile as large as his new friend's.
H5O* H5O
"That went pretty well," Steve said as he scooped Danny into his arms once the boys were out of sight. "Thank you."
"For what?" Danny asked. He sounded tired, almost resigned. Resting his head against Steve's chest, his general reluctance to talk was telling and Steve sighed in understanding.
"Because, I know ... and you're right," Steve said. "I know that your cop instincts are telling you one thing and your heart, something else. I know you're right, Danno ... but thank you for following your heart this time. Even if we wind up screwing up, thank you. I know that everything we decide to do today is going to have a repercussion. But this feels so right. It just does. Especially because we haven't told C.J. about his mother and I feel responsible for that omission, too."
"You don't have to thank me. I don't disagree with you ... and he wants to be with us. At least for right now," Danny admitted. "It's just that I have been here before where I've gotten vested ... and it hurts. A lot. The damage that gets left behind hurts for a really long time and I'd honestly prefer to be more cautious; we just intentionally brought Charlie into the mix ... we're setting the precedent for more attachments. Friends. People who he will love and who will love him back. I'm terrified that things are going to go too far ... and C.J.? He's so impressionable and young ... and that innocent little boy isn't going to be able to take an emotional hit if things go south."
"I know; I do," Steve whispered worriedly as he tucked Danny to himself. "But it will work out; what's meant to be will work itself out. It always does."
"Yeah, and I'd like it to work out, too," Danny said. "I would. But we need to focus and follow up on whatever it is we've got now. The Lee's will watch him tomorrow; and we promised Jerry time to debrief us."
"Jerry does think he's found something," Steve said. "It's shoddy at best ... sketchy. I bet it's going to be nothing but from what he told me today, its got his spidey senses tingling."
Danny sniffed back laughter which didn't sound wholly genuine. "Spidey senses?"
"Hey! Those were his words, not mine!" Steve laughed as he pulled Danny in more tightly. In all honestly, Jerry sounded upset. Even for a conspiracy theorist, Jerry had sounded extremely disturbed. His attitude had put Steve on edge and his laughter faded away as quickly as it had come as he considered Jerry's words.
"I was ... uh ... on the dark web. Just poking a bit and there was this talk," Jerry had hemmed and hawed, awkwardly stammering his way through his nonsense. "Talk about kids ... you know ... little kids. Sick, bad shit and these ... little kids. Jesus! And, uh some guy came right out and ... he just said it ... he had a mute kid and what a find for the right price. Sick bastard! Offered him right and there! I tried to hack his IP but it bounced all over the damned place ...gave me the creeps because one of the hits was here, on Oahu ... but suppose ... the guy was a fucking ghost. A troll. But Steve, just suppose ... and even if he's not ... suppose some other poor little kid is out there and right under our noses?"
Jerry was right. He was also a good man often naive about certain realities; easily shocked by what Steve and Danny had more professional exposure to. Trafficking being one such thing. Still, that there was any kid at all in danger was a sickening statement and Steve's gut churned. But C.J.? Jerry was known to go to extremes. Steve knew that the man would move mountain, earth and sky to impress him, as well. Some of his findings needed to be taken, not with a grain of salt, but with an entire mine.
Such dedicated extremes were why they all hated and loved the man at the same time. His implications about what he was suggesting right now could quite frankly be considered as ridiculous. That this anonymous guy on some dark website could be talking about C.J. Promising the little boy to the highest bidder? There was no reason to think this way or fall for Jerry's ramblings without solid proof. What Jerry implied had spooked Steve though; it made his skin itch in an annoying way. It made him believe that some obscure second shoe was about to fall; it made him think that he could feel some unknown threat even if that feeling made no sense as it lacked credence. Yet when Danny spoke next, his words nearly mirroring his private worries, Steve's smile bled away even faster. His gut churned harder.
"We'll investigate what we can with Jerry's intel. Bring in the Fed's if we have something substantial," Danny said easily knowing where Steve's thoughts had gone. "But you know Jerry ... "
Steve definitely did, but he also knew that Danny was just as sickened by what could be as much as he. For a few very long minutes, Danny stayed right where he was with his arms wrapped around Steve and his forehead braced against him, not saying a single thing. When he spoke next though, Steve cringed. Danny had gone round robin back to another, more immediate issue.
"I don't know when or how, but we have to tell him," Danny whispered. "We have to tell C.J. about his mother, Steve. It's not fair to keep the truth from him. It's been almost two days since she passed away."
"It would be so much easier if we found his family first ... that aunt he asked about once," Steve noted quietly. He sighed, his breath ruffling a few strand's of Danny's hair. He pressed a kiss to the side of Danny's cheek just to make himself feel better. This other truth chipped slowly at Steve's emotions, too. C.J. seemed to have family and they needed to focus. He needed to face reality despite his emotions and he forced himself to state the obvious.
"Jerry got a little off track in his research and we need to get back to center. We need to figure out who his mother was - someone has to know. Then, we track down the family. There has to be someone to help soften the blow when we tell him what's happened," Steve continued. He shrugged, wondering if he was making sense.
"I don't know. Just someone who can pinpoint where they came from. Hell, I'll accept knowing what C.J.'s full name is! What I want though, is to know what his mother was about ... what she was involved with and with who ... I want someone who can give us some semblance of fact. Someone who can put this all into perspective to make it easier."
"Is that all you want? Easy?" Danny gave out with a wry-sounding, half-laugh, smirking as he tilted his head to look into Steve's face. He leaned up to kiss Steve gently on the lips, his expression fond. "Easy, huh?" Danny whispered again. "We're well past easy, babe, if this ever was in the first place."
H5O* H5O
"Look at that," Steve said. "I never would have guessed that happening in a million years." He shook his head as he sat on the edge of the Adirondack chair, trying not to look as if he might jump up if needed.
The sun was setting and dinner was long over. Much to C.J.'s original dismay, Charlie had insisted on a quick swim before his bedtime bath. Almost grudgingly, C.J. had changed into his board-shorts. But he'd changed and then reluctantly followed Charlie down to the beach. The two boys had played for awhile in the sand but Charlie had eventually traipsed into the water for some reason or another, leaving C.J. behind despite his ongoing chatter and prodding. Things had recently changed though and now, as Steve sat forward in his chair, elbows to knees, he smiled, intrigued.
"Are you watching this?" Steve asked Danny, who was sitting next to him and likely attempting to not over-react much as Steve was.
"Yeah, I am," Danny said quietly. "It's ... I'm speechless ..." He sighed and fidgeted, the only hints to how uncomfortable he was and Steve chuckled, eyebrows raised in amusement at Danny's admission. But they were watching a bit of magic unfold.
"They're fine," Steve said out loud just as much to ease his own mind as his partner's. He smirked to himself when Danny had the gall to stifle his laughter.
"Of course they are," Danny chuckled, fidgeting again to dig his heels more deeply into the ruts he'd already made in the sand. "Perfectly fine."
On their own small spit of beach, two small silhouettes stood safely in the ankle-deep shallows. The sun was going down faster now, left over light glinting a light shade of orange off blond hair where the darker head of thick brown simply held the brightness. The two boys were hand in hand, Charlie safely leading the way with C.J. lagging just a bit behind.
He walked slowly, carefully, stopping to point something out every step or two until they were just knee deep. Once there, Charlie stopped and turned to face C.J., saying something which neither Steve nor Danny could hear. While they watched, C.J. nodded and then smiled. He bravely let go of Charlie's hand. His finger signs were now easy enough for Danny and Steve to see and read even if Charlie might not have understood.
Making two fists, C.J. extended his index and middle fingers on each hand. He started with one hand by his nose, turning it to face upwards before touching those two fingers to his opposite hand.
'Fun. Fun, Charlie,' C.J signed for a second time even as a gentle wave lapped at his knees and he needed to take Charlie's hand again.
"Incredible," Steve whispered, amazed by what Charlie had unknowingly accomplished in just a very short time. "Don't you think?"
"Like I said before though," Danny said, smiling as his son carefully coaxed C.J. along, the two boys deeply intent on getting to know each other. "We are well past this being easy."
~ to be continued ~
