This is gonna be a kind of short one shot. Mitch and I were re-watching the beginning of this season to see where it went wrong and we believe it's sometime in the eight episode (Nick Jonas the computer hacker takes over a plane and Grover and Steve go from enemies to BFFs). Anyway, there's a scene in there that really struck us and we wanted to write a little bit about it.
Summary: Grover thought he was just twitchy and trigger happy, but there's always more to the story with Steve. Sometimes, only a partner can see that.
"You know there are a lotta good cops out there that started out doing menial tasks. They learn to walk a beat. They learn to interact with people. We don't all just get handed a unit to run." Grover snarked.
"Yeah, really sorry I missed that part. I was a little busy fighting the Taliban." Steve countered. Despite the calmness of his tone, it hurt to know that Grover saw him as nothing more than an irresponsible soldier given a team and a high-ranking position just because of his military background. Steve wasn't vain or arrogant, but he took pride in what he did, back there and here in Hawaii. Grover's words damaged his seemingly impervious armor.
The sound of bullets ricocheting off metal sent shock waves to his very core. As the leader of Five-0, Steve had been in hundreds of shoot-outs since returning to Hawaii, but this…these sounds were different. It had been years since he had heard the sounds of an active warzone. The memories rose up and immediately he found himself flattening against the wall and drawing his gun.
"Hey, hey, HEY!" He whispered, urging Grover to do the same. Regardless of his dislike for the man, his protective instincts kicked in. Grover stopped, and when he looked back, he met Steve's anxious expression with an incredulous roll of the eyes.
"What are you Pavlov's dog or something? That's Halo. My son plays it all the time." Shaking his head, Grover continued on. Heart still pounding with the adrenaline spike, Steve followed. In the back of his mind, memories of a time long past returned unbidden. His eyes sent a silent question to Grover, although the man's back was already turned. Surely a S.W.A.T. Commander could understand PTSD?
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The next time he heard those sounds, he was just as unprepared as the first and his reaction was the same. He and Danny had finally gotten a lock on their latest suspect. The man was by no means dangerous, but he was a runner who possessed valuable information. He was hiding out in an arcade near the back. Slipping in the employee entrance, he and Danny hoped to nab him quickly. As soon as they were within earshot, the terrible sounds of gunfire and fervent shouts of soldiers assaulted them. His gun was in his hand before he could even fully process what he had heard and he was shoving Danny against the wall. A moment later, with a rush of embarrassment, he realized that once again, it was only a game. Trying to play it off as if it were nothing, he released Danny and re-holstered his gun. Danny looked at him quizzically for a fraction of a second before continuing on.
"According to Kono, Kekoa is at the first machine to the left once we get out into the main room." That was it. No snark, no concerned comment, nothing. Just Danny treating Steve as he usually would. Although his nerves were still jangling, he felt better knowing it wouldn't affect anything between them.
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At the end of the day, they had used Kekoa's information and they had gotten the bad guy. The case had wrapped up nicely and they were all heading out for the night. Still, something was bothering Steve. Despite Danny's willingness to let the events in the arcade slide, Steve knew he owed him an explanation. With two beers in hand, he headed over to Danny's office and knocked on the door. Danny glanced up from the report he was signing off on and Steve held up the beer in offering. Smiling, Danny finished his loopy signature and filed the report away. Accepting the beer, he turned to face Steve.
"S'up, babe? You got a bit of a face."
"I…Danny, I'm sorry about earlier."
"Sorry? For what?" Danny looked truly confused.
"I'm sorry for spazzing out at some video game noise, shoving you against a wall, and, as you would put it, going all Rambo." Steve muttered sheepishly.
"Why on Earth would you be sorry for that? For one, it's nowhere near the nuttiest thing you've ever done and it didn't affect the case. Besides," he added, his voice gentler now, "it's a normal response for someone who's seen what you've seen and done what you've done. Why should you ever apologize for that?"
"I…but…what if I'd hurt someone? What if it had affected the case? Hell, what if I'd hurt you? It's been almost four years now and I can't even handle a stupid video game. Maybe Grover was right…" Danny sat up straighter and set his beer down a little harder than necessary.
"What do you mean? What did Grover say? Is he giving you shit for this? 'Cause if he is-" Danny began angrily. He had never liked Grover, but for the man to be that insensitive…
"It's not like that. Remember when you were in Jersey visiting your dad and he bought that Corvette for his birthday?" Danny nodded. "Well, the governor, in an effort to make us play nice, made Grover and I serve a warrant together on that hacker kid I was telling you about. Anyway, before we even got in the door, I hear the kid's video game and I kind of freaked out."
"And what did Grover say?" Danny pressed.
"Well, he of course knew what it was and…"
"And he just didn't understand." Danny finished. "Steve, don't you ever, ever, let a civilian who has never been over there, never had to live what you did, make you feel strange or crazy for reacting like that. He doesn't get it. I can't pretend that I understand what you're going through, but I can see how it's affected you. And as for all the what-ifs, forget 'em. All of those mean nothing because you didn't. You didn't hurt anyone and it didn't affect the case. So what if for a millisecond you're a little on edge? You're a damn sight better than I am when my claustrophobia's acting up. "
"Yeah, but you can't help that."
"And neither can you. Post-traumatic stress disorder is not something bad that you're doing. It is an actual health problem. Screw Grover and anyone else who says otherwise. You're one of the best cops out there and you gotta remember that." They were silent for a while, their beers sitting untouched.
"Thank you." Steve said quietly. Smiling, and taking a sip from his beer, Danny stood up.
"You got it, babe. Come on, Chin and Kono are waiting at Side street and as I recall, drinks are on you. And don't you dare say you forgot your wallet cause I just pickpocketed you." Steve laughed. It was good to know that Danny, no matter what they faced together, no matter what came their way, would always be there. He would always be that one constant in ever-changing world he lived in.
You guys like it? I don't hate Grover, but I do hate that he has completely replaced Danny in the bromance and is effectively killing the show. Anyway, there's Mitch and I's thoughts!
