Don't leave, Steve, you animal. No, that's not what tumbled from Danny's mouth. He hated its sour taste. He opted for saying instead, "Don't make us track you down. Watch your back."
That won't be easy. You've always kept your eye on it for me. Steve halted his departure from the beach, letting what Danny said sink in. "Back at ya, buddy." Tell him—tell him—tell him. Ten years is too long to have kept it bottled up. He's your brother. He continued on to the house, stopping once inside to scratch behind Eddie's ears, "Change of plans." Catherine will call it quits for good, but I can't go through with this. Maybe, maybe we could try a trial long distance romance. But if not, we're good as friends, and he shot that friend a quick text, saying he'd explain later.
Steve told Eddie, "Daddy's home, to stay." He swiped his truck keys from the side table, and opened his front door. Grover, with a raised fist to bump Steve's, greeted him. "You thought we'd let you go without saying goodbye?"
Won't they be surprised, rippled in Steve's mind.
His feisty ohana piled into his house, each of them eager to outpour their feelings all over him, their rugged, indomitable fearless leader. Laughing, Steve assured, "Nah man. That never crossed my mind." After most of them hugged him to pieces, he struggled to say, "Listen, Danny's on the beach. See what you can do about cheering him up." Sounding mischievous, he added, "Aloha." And jiggled the shaka sign at his team, with his eyes twinkling, as they chorused for him to hurry back to visit. Sooner than you think, guys…
It saddened all of them beyond words to see Steve packing it all in. He had a date with the airport, and the first plane that would take him far away. He was a man of few words, but his not expressing how much he'd miss them, not even trying to offer a little speech, just felt indescribably wrong.
That was raw, and hurt like a bullet penetrating… Steve breathed a sigh of relief in his truck, while picking up the envelope from the passenger seat. Grinning, he got out. Like a ninja, he hurried to the back of his house. His family had joined Danny. Stupid, stupid, stupid—me turning my back on, and walking out on all of this?
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He clutched his device, reading Danny's text:
Miss you already.
Steve sucked in a deep breath, made the aneurysm face Danny couldn't him watch him making right now. Then immediately Steve chuckled, his unfocused eyes misting. He left the lanai to reunite with his ohana as quickly as he could. Like he was saying, boo, Steve shouted, "Miss you too."
Startled out of his skin, Danny cringed and groaned. Shocked, the gang hooted and hollered. Tani was the loudest. "Are you serious right now?" she screamed.
"Animal! I just got out of the hospital—what is wrong with you?" Danny demanded, looking all kinds of shaken, shaking his head.
"What?" Steve asked, sounding the essence of innocence. "You're not happy to see me?"
"I'll tell you what's what!" Danny targeted Steve with false indignation. "Why aren't you on a plane? Forget something?"
"Uh huh. Yeah—I did." He strode up to him, and the team made room. "This." He knelt beside Danny's beat-up chair, and proudly stated, "I forgot to tell you we're brothers. Brothers don't bail. They find peace in each other. Truth in being together, especially when a brother needs on-going TLC." He leaned in, kissing Danny's closest cheek. Wolf whooping and riotous shouts broke out among the team. Rearing back from Danny, Steve whisked away several tears that had leaked from his eyes.
"That was..." Danny was bright beet red. "Uh…" He shut his mouth and whisked away tears of his own. "Uh—"
"Overdue. Way overdue!" Steve yanked the envelope from his back pocket. He held it up, waving it. "I should have told you years ago, Danny. I love you, bruddah. You've gone through hell for me. Trusted me, always. Even when I gave you every reason not to. Times when I feared trusting myself. You've saved me over and over. The day I met you in my garage, I knew we'd bond—blood brothers, mingling blood, sweat and tears. Brothers for life, man!" He thought back, always impressed that time Danny and the task force he'd gotten together had swooped in to haul his butt out of North Korea. What Danny and those commandos had done never failed to raise goosepimples, to this day.
Danny's face trembled as he wiped at his face before clearing his throat. "You said you weren't gonna do this." Suppressing his face-altering grin wasn't happening. "Don't make me whack you with this cane, bruddah." You nut-job. You're just makin' this harder than it already is.
"Tickets to Jersey. You. Me." Steve eased them out of the envelope. "First class. Like you. Reservations. Once you've recovered, and good to go, we make the trip. I've always wanted to meet the rest of your family. Thank them for molding a gem. Familiarize myself with your old stomping grounds." He was forced to clear his throat. "I ain't leaving—" He stretched out his arms to figuratively embrace his ohana. "All this! What am I? Completely crazy?"
"Like I haven't told you that all the time," Danny sniped. "Yo, Steve... You are terminally crazy as I constantly remind you. And, you are what annoying means for torturing us like this."
Steve nodded, giving himself props for how well he'd pulled this off. "I have what I need here with all of you. What? Is that so hard to believe? I was stupid thinking I could ever find it anywhere else."
Danny just gawked at him. Okay, maybe he isn't as mental as he is. "Finally. You get it. It only took me nearly dying to drive it home. You're staying put." He grimaced. "Phew, that was close."
Hemming Danny and Steve in, their ohana roared with laughter. Tani and Junior moved in to sweep them up in a tsunami-style hug.
Steve enthusiastically admitted, "This just feels right. It always has." He tempered himself. "I got turned around big time after Doris and Joe White died. Thought I could get better by… Yeah. Running away. Wrong. So wrong. I need all of you to get me through what I'm still going through."
Danny nodded, getting very quiet, spying Eddie wagging his tail on the lanai with that big canine tongue hanging out of his mouth. The sight had him chuckling. Steve looked to where he was, and chuckled too. Gently crashing waves were the perfect audio backdrop. On several of those waves, talented surfers showed off.
Locking eyes, Steve and Danny thought the same thing: This is home. Our home.
"You staying here is a good thing. Flying to Jersey for a family visit? Not so much. You never know what you'll get with my fam." Danny looked squeamish, the way he did when Kamekona would nag him to go into business with him. Who in their right mind would want to dig into hot fudge-covered fried shrimp with whipped cream? Lunatics, maybe, but not sane people.
"I'll take my chances with your family. Like I take them with you—and win, biggest time. Nuff said, Danno." All of a sudden, Steve looked stern. "Y'got that?"
Everyone went silent. Danny took several deep breaths. His surgery site ached a bit. His heart beating so rapidly concerned. Cautiously, he quietly began, "Yo, you've given me so many almost heart attacks, right now, included, when you chased down countless alleys. Raced across too many roofs that had long ways down. Your insanity is over the top. Common sense is foreign to you." The testy blond softened his voice, mellowing it. "But, you love my kids like they're your own. Your home is mine, despite all those times you threatened to kick me out." Danny's eyes glazed with too many tears this time. "I love you too, you insane, gung-ho malasada stealer."
Steve's face became a massive grin, and called Danny out. "How're you calling me a ho, bro'?"
Their ohana erupted with unbridled laughter as both seasoned, battle-tested crimefighters gasped for air, grasping each other. Eddie barked in the background, then came barreling for the close-knit tangle of sentimental humans. The yellow Lab, an irresistible sidekick, inserted himself smack in the middle of the bunch.
"Hey, guys, what looked like being the worst day has turned out to be the best!" Tani insisted, looking radiantly happy. "Let's officially celebrate at Kamekona's!" Junior told her that was the best idea she'd had all day, as he high-fived her.
In turn, Adam and Lincoln Cole did the same, making sure they didn't leave Quinn out.
Right away, Tani whipped out her phone to send Jerry a text. She let Ortega know that the gang was converging on the shrimp truck to celebrate Steve's remaining. She finished texting: Drop whatever you're doing, and get there. It won't be a party if you're not with us. See you soon.
"Wow," Danny suddenly said, "I almost had to die to get this animal to stay!" He threw the beautiful brunette with a soft spot for mermaids, and his secret crush, who was every bit as gung-ho as Steve, a playful look. "I'm in, as long as Kamekona lays off talking business. I'm not interested in anything involving the food industry." We looked pointedly at Steve. "We learned our lesson, right, pal?"
"Maybe we could try again. But with something a lot less ambitious. Say, maybe a hotdog stand?"
Danny gave Steve a hard, "No!"
He pulled Danny in close again as the rest of the team ooh'd and awed. Eddie piled in against his overdoing it housemates. He wagged his tail like it was mechanically spring-loaded. Reflecting, Steve felt a release he'd never known before. What was I thinking? Going off to find peace, when it couldn't be more evident here. How stupid was that? Turning my back on my family, and my beautiful Hawaii! My true home. Only home. "Let's hear it for our ohana. Five-0 for life!" He sighed, smelling how abundant and thick love was in the air.
His chest swelled even greater, flooded with warmth. He soaked this intoxicating, unconditional love in, vowing to inhale it for as long as he lived.