I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: thanks once more to Phoebe and to Swifters for re-assuring the evil breakfast bunny on this final wrap up. And thank you all for reading this tale!

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O

Danny sat in the lounge chair, slouched down low, the darkest glasses he could find covering his eyes despite the setting sun. He felt better, but wasn't entirely whole just yet. The ride with Sergeant Duke Lukela had been ... a challenge. Not because Danny had begged the older man to maintain a level of secrecy, but more because every bump in the macadam had rattled his head despite the pain meds he'd been given at the hospital. Then, the subsequent trip in the small puddle-jumper had nearly done him in. The noise, severity of vibration and not so subtle dips and turns of the aircraft had left him a wrung out, sweaty mess. By then, he knew that the ER doctor had been right in his advice when he'd reluctantly released him: go home, rest. Make sure a friend or family member checked in with him. Do nothing more for at least three or four days in order to properly heal.

Travel had not been on the good doctor's docket for his patient. Danny had forged on though, all the way through the final taxi drive to the all-inclusive resort on Maui. And he'd all but crumpled into bed as soon as the door closed to the palatial suite. He didn't feel well and was plagued by odd dreams. There were snippets of time where his rest was disturbed and he'd mumble some word or another before sinking back down to a deeper sleep. Overall, though, he barely twitched for hours on end until well after a mid-day meal should have been eaten.

Well after, he should have taken another dose of pain medication for the migraine which threatened. Something he'd clearly forgotten to do before wandering down to the beach.

Danny moaned under his breath about this oversight as his head gave out with a dull thud. He'd finally pulled himself together to limp down to the spit of private beach where he'd collapsed into one of the empty chairs at the water's edge to dismally watch the sunset. He should have taken his meds first; obviously, he wasn't yet charging on all cylinders. Reluctant to move, he hunched down there now, alone, digging his heels into the sand. Eyes closing again, he measured the level of dull ache left inside his head.

"Not too bad," he muttered under his breath. "Not too bad at all." His tone was thankful, relieved even as he completely relaxed and just listened to the waves hitting the sand, the water receding with a soft repetitive hiss.

Danny was in a deep doze when he sensed that he was no longer alone. The sensation of being watched, roused him and he jerked awake. Forcing his eyes back open, Danny squinted upwards, the man's silhouette darkened not only by his sunglasses, but also by dusky shadows.

"Hello, Mister McGarrett." A deep voice echoed to him on the wave of a soft chuckle. "So nice to see you finally ... awake."

Danny grinned as Steve sat down next to him. "Hey," Danny said sheepishly. "So, about that ...I figured ... you know, using your name..."

"It's done, Danny," Steve interrupted. "And what you did ... well, to be honest, it was kind of ... funny. I couldn't find you at all."

Danny smirked knowingly. "So, you did look."

"Yeah, I did," Steve admitted. "Anyway, so we're here now. You slept for about six hours; I checked on you a few times and you barely said your name ... I was getting a little worried. Here, take these. How's the head ... still feeling sick?"

Danny sensed Steve shifting around in the second chair. Without looking, he held his hand out to the side and chuffed a surprised noise when he was given a cold bottle of water and two pills. His pain medication. Of course.

"Thanks. I forgot ... head hurts," Danny said gratefully. "Not too bad though." He popped the medication into his mouth and took a long swallow of the water. The doctor had been right in that he'd do better with some help for a day or two and Danny sighed in defeat, refusing to open his eyes more than a crack.

"Think they miss us?" Steve asked unexpectedly. "I mean ... except for Duke ... we didn't leave word for either Chin or Kono. "

"Nope," Danny replied before slightly recanting. He grinned into the lip of the water bottle and shrugged. "Well, maybe."

"Maybe ... yes! And Duke ... he just might tell," Steve revised that opinion and Danny's dodgy request of the older Sergeant. He raised an eyebrow when Danny grinned, glancing out over the waters only to then chuff a happy sound. The sun was setting well into the horizon and the water rippled with color. "Okay, I have to admit that this is nice. But ... come on ... you don't feel guilty - not even a little bit?"

"Ah ... nope. Not guilty, Steven," Danny considered his answer and then pursed his lips. "I need ... and I am determined ... to have this break." He'd once again left himself wide open for attack and for a minute, Danny bristled because, despite this rather pleasant conversation, he'd not truly let things go. And he was sure that Steve was also skating around that truth.

"You sure?" Steve goaded lightly. 'Yeah, skating,' Danny thought.

Danny glowered as he tamped down on his temper when his head thumped a dire warning. He sighed ruefully while rubbing at the small strip of white tape by his head, knowing all the while that Steve was watching him like a hawk. Measuring him; testing him. No, Steve definitely hadn't let things go either.

But what they'd just done together was ... unexpected; strange. In many ways, what they'd just done after leaving the hospital, mimicked Danny's own earlier escapade. If they were still mad at each other, it actually made no sense at all. Unless one considered what the ER nurse had declared.

Karma. Their universe - or whatever it was which made their worlds collide - certainly had a plan for them.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Danny insisted stubbornly. Sure enough, there was a soft snort from the lounge chair next to him and Danny glanced over, the sight of Steve's lopsided grin erasing some of the residual ache he was feeling. Steve heaved in a lungful of air as he measured Danny's expression and nodded as if in agreement. To Danny's absolute relief, Steve chose not to pounce on him one final time. Instead, Steve took a long swallow from the bottle of beer which Danny hadn't even noticed in his hand.

"Should you be drinking that?" Danny asked. "Meds? Antibiotics? Hello?! I don't think that's on the list of okay foods, Steven!" He eyed the bottle, somewhat displeased. Steve's injured arm was still in the sling and tucked tightly to his body and yet, Steve's eyes were glittering happily as he teased Danny by taking yet another and very long swig from the dark bottle.

"I'm fine ... skipped the pain meds. I needed the beer." With a dramatic flare, Steve tipped the bottle in Danny's direction, grinning devilishly. "Love ya, Danno."

"You needed ... needed the beer?" Danny retorted. "Well, so do I! But I'm not because I follow doctor's orders ... so, you know what ...?"

"Nah," Steve interrupted, his eyes twinkling as he paused to take a long, satisfied pull from the bottle. "No, no you don't."

"Yes, yes!" Danny argued back. "Yes! This time I think that I really do! For a beer ... I do."

"That will all change in a day or two," Steve quipped back happily. "Besides, a concussion is nothing to play with; and you only think you hate me right now. It's a side affect of being concussed." He stretched his legs out in the sand and sighed.

"Just rest up, Danno ... relax. We're at one of the best, premium resorts on Maui, buddy. Things couldn't be better and besides, like you said, I'm a big tipper."

"Yeah, you're a big tipper, Steven," Danny grumbled sarcastically. "Huge, in fact."

"You know what, Danno?" Steve said conversationally, completely ignoring Danny's jibe, which Danny belatedly realized was likely a very good thing. He gestured towards the horizon, the reds now a deep blackish-purple. "This sabbatical thing ... it's a great idea. I have to say it ... this isn't so bad at all. Man, would you just look at that sunset?"

"So, you're over me talking Duke into shuttling us to the airport?" Danny asked slyly. "I mean, if this karma thing is true, then ... this was meant to be, right? We're sort of ... stuck together."

"Hmm," Steve concurred. "Definitely stuck, Danno, and with the doc demanding that you needed help for the next twenty-four hours, it seemed right in the end for me to get stuck, too. You shouldn't be alone with a concussion, buddy. I'm not so convinced Duke will stay quiet if pressed, but even with all of that ... today, right now ... this is a good kind of stuck."

"Yeah, today ... right now," Danny whispered, his mood suddenly fickle. His tone completely changed, becoming accusatory and he surprised himself by bringing up the same touchy subject he'd hoped Steve not mention. It was as if he simply couldn't avoid what was so deeply troubling his soul.

"Karma ... karma is great when it's this kind of stuck, isn't it?" He bemoaned.

"Karma? Yeah," Steve grunted in agreement, but the sound he made indicated he'd caught Danny's shift in mood. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, beer bottle hanging down low towards the sand. "Are we really going to talk about this? Again?"

"We never finished," Danny muttered. He wanted to stop himself. He really did, but something inside him was just incapable and he grimaced when Steve hit the nail on the head.

"You ... you never finished," Steve loudly argued back. "Me, I was done!"

Pulling the sunglasses off his face, Danny turned in his chair. "You're only done because you insist that you had everything under control despite evidence to the contrary."

"What do you want from me, Danno?" Steve sighed in defeat. "I think we both got beat up over this; you made your point. I made mine. We're both right ... then again, we're both dead wrong. Aren't we? It's the same thing ... every damned time. We both have our methods. We both have our ... expectations. Let it go!"

Danny sniffed tiredly. Steve was right. He couldn't stop or let things go. And because of that, they often went down this very same path nearly every single time, the question is why did he persist then? If they knew each other so well, then why ever did they - no, he - continually revisit, rehash and regurgitate precisely the same issues time and again? And if things were so bad, why ever did they stay partners?

The simplest answer was because it simply worked.

"Freaking karma," Danny muttered to himself as he stared at Steve's sling. Mindful of his bruised head, he rubbed his fingers through his hair and put the sunglasses back on before slumping into his chair. "Ilk ... and karma."

"Probably," Steve replied evenly, his voice dropping back to a normal tenor. He waited the breadth of a heartbeat and then turned in his chair, his shadow falling across Danny's face. "So ... about those ... expectations then?"

"What?" Danny scowled at the question, noting the humor rippling through Steve's undertone. He squinted behind his sunglasses, thinking. He stayed quiet, crunching through things in his mind as he tried to figure out what Steve meant and then he narrowed his eyes in understanding. He suddenly damn well knew what Steve was hinting at.

"Fine," he said. "Fine! You got shot ... my fault ... I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven," Steve gushed happily. The resulting pleased chuckle irked Danny no end and he pursed his lips in annoyance, the scowl seemingly permanently laced across his face.

"So ...?," Danny ground out, teeth gritted from saying more. "Your turn."

"Okay. Me too, Danno," Steve replied after a long, long silence. "I'm sorry, too. For what happened on the docks ... and the vest." Steve paused for a half-second longer and then laughed out loud.

"But, I'd do it again!"

"Seriously! You would do it again!" Danny nearly shouted as he threw one hand up in the air, wincing when he automatically rolled his eyes in exasperation and his head vibrated with a disagreeable ache. "Now, how is that an apology? Huh? You just negated the whole damned thing!"

Steve grinned, laughing more when Danny glared at him.

"It's not right," Danny complained. He shook his head in exasperation, grimacing as that dull thud revisited with a vengeance.

There was a rustling behind them then, but Danny didn't bother to turn around. Instead, he stayed in a huff as their beach-side waitress delivered another tray of drinks. Beer for Steve and more cold water for him. Evidently, Steve had been busy making their stay even more comfortable while Danny had slept.

"Mr. Kelly," the waitress asked of Steve. "Is everything all right, sir? Are you ready for dinner yet?"

"Just peachy," Steve replied breezily as he signed the voucher for their room. He blatantly ignored Danny's soft gasp. "Perfect ... we'll be ordering dinner in about an hour I'd say, come back then?"

"Sure, Mr. Kelly," the waitress replied with a pleasant smile for each of them before leaving.

"Mister ... Kelly?" Danny asked, utterly stunned. "What did she just say?" He turned in his chair and slowly removed his sunglasses. Eyes wide, he stared at Steve in disbelief.

"Kelly?"

"What? What's wrong?" Steve asked, biting back a grin, his expression nothing short of pure, unadulterated innocence.

Tiny little Postscript

H5O* H5O*

"Where are they?" Kono asked. "And Duke knows! I know that the knows and he's avoiding me!"

She'd first tried Steve's cell phone and then Danny's, with no luck whatsoever. Both went directly to voicemail. She leaned back in her chair, completely confused since Steve and Danny had been released from the hospital ... together ... and yet neither had called for a ride home. Why? Because she'd learned through a bit of detective work that Duke Lukela had taken them ... somewhere.

"They enlisted Duke! Can you believe that?!" She was incredulous. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea," Chin replied. He was fighting a smile though as he considered a few options and then shrugged helplessly. "You know, I really don't know, but I'm sure they're fine."

He walked a short circle in front of Kono's desk, fighting his smile the entire time. He was sure nothing was wrong ... yet, he had absolutely no answers for his cousin. With a softly chuffed chuckle, Chin walked over to the large window and peered quizzically out into the dimming purples of the sunset.

He grinned and then just had to laugh.

~ End. ~