The beginning

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

The characters of Steve McGarrett, Danny Williams, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Mary McGarrett and Max Bergman do not belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.

The characters of Danielle 'Danni' Richardson, Caitlin 'Cait' Richardson, Simon Ferron, Tess Walker, The Richardson Family, Michael Landon and Karen Landon do however belong to me so please do not use without first asking permission.

Any other character who might pop up who you don't instantly recognise will probably belong to me as well. I'll hopefully catch them in time to put above though.

Author Note

Here's the next chapter for you all

Please enjoy!

Official Summary

All Steve McGarrett wants is to settle down with Danni and enjoy the rest of their lives together peacefully however life seems determined to get in the way; between his job, his best friend's relationship and planning a wedding, things were never going to be peaceful however much he wanted them to be. (Sequel to Snippets – The Model saga, McDanni, featuring a male Danny as well)

Chapter Summary

Danielle and Steve have a talk about Steve's mistake.

Official Romances for the story

Steve McGarrett / Danielle 'Danni' Richardson (McDanni)

Danny Williams / Caitlin 'Cait' Richardson (Danlin)

Mentions of past Danielle 'Danni' Richardson / Simon Ferron

Mentions of past Steve McGarrett / Catherine Rollins (McRollins)

Mentions of past Danny Williams / Rachel Edwards

Mentions of past Caitlin Richardson / Thomas Jacobs (Caitmas)

Romances mentioned during the chapter

Steve McGarrett / Danielle 'Danni' Richardson (McDanni)

Another note

Please keep in mind that I don't have a Beta for this story so the odd mistake may creep in without me meaning it to. I have also never been to Hawaii so all locations are either from the show, google or made up in my own mind.

Please note that the quote at the beginning of each chapter are just random quote from Google. I don't own them in any fashion.

Chapter Twenty-Five

So, it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this every day,

But I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, every day.

You and me… every day.

Danielle sighed to herself as she reached out for the coffee mug which had finally finished brewing and poured the much-needed liquid into her mug before adding milk to it. She placed the pot back on the stand and deposited the milk back into the fridge. The morning routine, already comforting and familiar to her.

She felt worn out, the same way she had been feeling over the past couple of weeks. That constant feeling of tiredness hadn't been helped by the fact that she had slept badly the night before which made this first hit of caffeine to her system all the more important to her.

Steve was still upstairs in their bed, dead to the world, indicating that the pills which they had placed him on at the hospital must have been strong ones. But then again, she assumed that extra strong painkillers were the standard course of action when it came to treated wounds caused by bullets.

Danielle glanced around her before she headed out of the backdoor which led to the lanai. Moving over to one of the chairs she lowered herself into it and stared at the ocean in front of her, trying desperately to wrap her head around not only the fact that Steve hadn't called her the day before to let her know that he was hurt but also that he had actively forbidden the other members of the team, people who she had tentatively began to consider as friends, from calling her as well.

She was smart enough to know that in Steve's mind he had been keeping it from her in an attempt to protect her from the unpleasant aspects of his job, but it was the type of protecting which Danielle didn't want to experience. If she was to make a proper life for herself here in Hawaii then she had to know that Steve was being completely honest with her at all times. She couldn't have any lingering doubts in her mind that he was holding things back from her. Her last boyfriend had done that to her and Danielle had made a silent promise to herself, once they had finally broken up, that she would never allowed herself to be back in that situation and experience the pain it caused again.

She needed to make a stand now before it became too engrained in hers and Steve's relationship.

Danielle wasn't sure how long she sat in her chair, sipping at the rapidly cooling coffee and staring thoughtfully into the distance but it was long enough for the sun to be high in the sky when she finally finished her drink. She had just made the decision to get up and make herself another mug when a familiar, much loved, voice spoke up from behind her.

"Hey you're up early love. Had a bad night sleep again?"

Danielle turned to see Steve standing just behind her, dressed only in a pair of black cargo pants with a red t-shirt scrunched up in one hand. Her eyes dropped to the white bandage spread over his shoulder, lingering for a moment on it before she pulled her gaze back up to her face and spoke, keeping her voice light.

"Maybe you just slept in for once Steve, I think it's later then you believe it is" She countered, waving her hand towards the sky. Steve glanced up, frowning slightly as he shielded his eyes before looking back towards her, the frown remaining as though he had detected something in her voice. She waited for him to say something but instead he moved towards where she was sitting, stopping beside her and throwing the t-shirt on the chair beside her, his eyes never leaving her face.

"I was going to get myself a coffee, did you want me to grab you one as well or are you still okay?" He offered, nodding towards the mug she still cradled in her hand.

She glanced down at it before she nodded and held it out to him.

"A refill would be good thank you." She said, turning her attention back to the ocean once he had taken the mug from her. She was aware of him lingering at her side for a moment but resisted the urge to look his way.

"Okay, give me a moment then and I'll be back." He said after a brief pause.

Danielle breathed out as he left and waited patiently for him to return, thankful when he took the seat beside her once he had returned and handed her the fresh coffee.

"We need to talk Steve." She stated softly, finally turning to look at him. Her heart aching at the stoic look on his face. He looked as though he was preparing himself for a blow of some kind.

"Okay then" He said with a single nod before falling silent, clearly waiting for her to start the conversation between them.

Danielle had spent most of the night and the morning trying to come up with all the words which she wanted to say but now that he was there, sitting beside her, it felt as though the words had abandoned her.

Setting her shoulders, she placed the mug on the small table between their chair and twisted round so she could look at him without having to strain her neck.

"I love you" She told him, watching as some of the tension he had been holding in his shoulders eased away. "I need you to know that. My feelings for you haven't changed and nor has the fact that I want to be here with you and that I want to start building a life and a home here in Hawaii with you."

"I love you as well Danni." He said cautiously, as though he was trying to figure out exactly where she was going with the conversation.

"Good, that is always good to hear." She responded with a nod as she clasped her hands together and rested them lightly on her lap. "What I need from you Steve is to know that you aren't holding anything back from me. I understand that there are certain things which you've done in your past which you can't speak of to me. I get that and I don't expect to hear about those things. What I do expect to be told is that you were shot while on the job and had to go to hospital for treatment." She stated firmly, watching as his face dropped for a moment before it was hidden behind the expression which she had only seen once or twice, the expressions which she privately referred to as his SEAL face. The one which hid everything he was feeling from everyone.

"Danni, I didn't tell you about it because I wanted to…"

"Protect me" Danielle finished for him. "I had figured out that side of it for myself. The thing is Steve that I don't need you to protect me from that aspect of your life. I am no some delicate flower who is in need of protection from the world at large because I have been in that world, navigating it often by myself since I was nineteen years old. I know the way it works and the best way you can protect me is by giving me all the facts. I like knowing things Steve, I like knowing what is happening so I can adapt and make plans for it. You not telling me is one of the worst things you could do to me because it's not helping or protecting me. It's only hindering me and leaving me in the dark and it's a feeling which I don't like experiencing." She told him honestly, reaching up and hooking a curl behind her ear.

"I…" Steve began to say before he stopped with a shake of his head, turning away from her and dropping his eyes to stare at the ground to the side of his chair.

Danielle moved, pushing herself to her feet and bridged the gap between them, taking his mug from him and placing it on the table next to hers before she lowered herself onto his lap, thankful when he immediately wrapped his arm around her to balance her.

"Look at me beloved." She requested softly, bringing her hand up to his face when he followed her instructions. "I'm not angry with you but we need to be open with one another if this is to work. I need to know that I can trust you to always tell me the truth and to let me know what is happening so I can be prepared for it. I know you didn't tell me because you didn't want to worry me but I would rather be worried but know what is going on than to find out later that you kept something from me. Do you understand where I am coming from?" She asked.

Steve remained quiet for a moment, searching her eyes with his before he slowly nodded at her.

"I understand" He said, reaching out with his hand and wrapping it round the back of her neck. "I never meant to hurt you or keep you in the dark Danni. I though I was doing the right thing. I didn't want you to have to worry when I knew that the injury wasn't that serious." He remarked.

"I think you'd find that, that is your SEAL mentality coming out Steve because a lot of people would consider being shot as something which is serious." She pointed out dryly, her mouth curling up into a reluctant smile.

"Danno says that as well." Steve admitted, the comment causing Danielle's smile to widen. She could well imagine exactly what Steve's opiniated partner would have to say on the subject.

"Maybe that is a sign that you should actually listen to him more since what he says seems to make sense in the large scale of things." She commented lightly.

"I'll think about it." He answered, searching her face again. "I do love you Danni, more than anything. I… I don't know how I managed before you came into my life." He told her, the admission causing her heart to flip in her chest.

"Well luckily for you, I'm here to stay so it's not something which you'll have to worry about again beloved." She promised, leaning forward and kissing him softly. A hum of pleasure escaping her when Steve took control of the kiss, moving her so she was straddling him as they continued to exchange lazy kisses while Steve's hand moved up and down her back, pulling her into him so there was no gap between them.

"Whoops, sorry to interrupt but we've got a case Buddy. I've been hitting your phone up like you owe me money but I get why you didn't pick up now."

Danielle reluctantly broke the kiss and looked over Steve's shoulder to see Danny standing just outside the kitchen door, a smile coming to her face when he raised his hand and shot her an apologetic look.

"Looks like duty calls for you yet again." She said, turning to look back at Steve, a laugh escaping her when she caught sight of the expression on his face. An expression which made her almost feel sorry for the criminal who he would be hunting down that day.

"It looks that way" He replied with a sigh as he lifted her off of him and placed her back on her feet, making sure she was steady before he came to his own feet and grabbed the red t-shirt. He pulled it on and ran a hand through his hair before focusing on her again. "I'll see you tonight love." He said smiling when she nodded at him. "And if anything happens then I'll call you or at least get one of the others to call you to fill you in on anything." He promised.

"That's all I ask for Steve" She responded, going up on tiptoes and giving him another kiss before making a shooing motion at him with her hands. "No go and get out of here."

"Yes Ma'am" He replied with a grin and a salute before he headed over to his partner, the two of them disappearing into the house leaving Danielle staring after them with a soft smile of her face before she picked up her coffee and took another sip. She stared at the scene for a moment before she headed into the house to get on with the rest of her day.

Author Note

Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it.

I really appreciate it