The ties that bind

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

The characters of Commander Steven 'Steve' McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Tani, Junior Reigns, Adam 'Toast' Charles, Detective Meka Hanamoa and Amy Hanamoa do not belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.

The character of Detective Sergeant Danielle 'Danni' Williams probably can be considered to be mine by now. Although she was originally based on male Danny, she soon evolved becoming her own person. She has her own background, her own family, her own history and her own distinct personality. This isn't to say that the Danny Williams we all know and love is completely gone, he still emerges through her at times. I like to think of female Danni as what Danny could have been if everything in his life had gone his way. As in full custody of Grace and a decent relationship with his ex.

The character of Grace has also changed slightly due to the change in Danni. Her surname is Taylor as this is her father's surname and was Danni's married name (Danni reverted back to her maiden name when she was divorced). Her parents also are amicable which has also impacted Grace but never fear, she's still the sweetheart we know and love, if anything she's more a sweetheart now.

Any character who you do now recognised straight away belongs to me.

Author Note

So this story was not planned at all and I had no intention of writing a new story until at least some of my others were completed but there was no way I could leave the ended of the series alone, not even from the safety of my niche world so I decided to give a go at fitting it into my world and seeing how it would work.

I'd like to say that this won't happen in the canon version of my A/U but it's still a good way of getting my rage and frustration out about it all.

I doubt it will be long, perhaps 5 chapters

My schedule has been a bit crazy last week and will continue for the next couple of weeks due to a couple of computer games I wanted being released.

The good news though is that the way they ended the show angered me so much that it's kick started my desire to work on the main rewrite of the series again so please look out for an update on Respect the land soon.

I'll be updating my profile shortly with the new writing schedule!

Anyway, please enjoy.

Overall Summary

Steve McGarrett thought that leaving his family to clear his head after everything which had happened was the right thing to do for everyone but it doesn't take him long to realise just how wrong he was. Now he has to make amends to his family and pray that it is enough. (McDanni, featuring female Danni Williams, standalone story)

Chapter Summary

Steve meets an old friend who gives him a new perspective on things and makes him realise that perhaps he made the wrong choice.

Overall Romance

Steve McGarrett / Danni McGarrett (McDanni)

Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)

Lee Martin / Catherine Rollins-Martin (Mallins)

Mentions of past Steve McGarrett / Catherine Rollins (McRollins)

Meka Hanamoa / Amy Hanamoa (Mekmy)

Chapter Romance

Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)

Lee Martin / Catherine Rollins-Martin (Mallins)

Mentions of past Steve McGarrett / Catherine Rollins (McRollins)

Warning

This story features a female Danni Williams in place of a male Danny Williams. Although in some stories I write, Danny does exist, he does not exist in this one.

If this is not your cup of tea then please hit the back button.

Another note

I do not have a Beta so please forgive any mistakes which may creep in, I always do my best to edit the story and check it but sometimes mistakes do creep in.

The places I've mentioned in Hawaii are ones which come from google, including the addresses. I've never been to Hawaii myself in person so I apologise for any mistakes which I may make, these are not intentional.

Chapter One

Revelations

"Steve McGarrett? Holy hell man, how are things? Its good to see you? What the hell are you doing here though? Don't you still live in Hawaii or have you moved?"

Steve McGarrett blinked at the sound of his name and looked up from the beer which he was currently nursing, his eyes widened slightly when he found himself face to face with Lee Martins, the same Lee Martins who he had gone to Annapolis with and who had ended up marrying Catherine Rollins, Steve former on and off again Lieutenant with benefits, four years ago.

The situation between the two men should have been awkward but it had been anything but, indicating to Steve that he had made the right choice when he had finally ended his and Catherine's arrangement for good, a couple of months after he had arrived back on Hawaiian soil for the first time in fifteen years. That had only been ten years ago but it already felt like a lifetime ago.

"Lee hey, I didn't expect to see you here" Steve remarked, holding out his hand to the other man and shaking it before he waved hand towards the free side of the booth, he was in.

"That makes two of us" Lee responded as he slid into the space and placed his bottle of beer on the table. "As for what I'm doing here well Cat's parents are coming around in a couple of hours for dinner so she suggested I come here and have a quick drink before entering the lions den. I get on with her Dad fine but her mom, well… that's a whole different kettle of fish though I'm sure you're well aware of that, you've been married longer than I have after all. How long has it been now since you tied the knot?" He asked, a curious glint to his dark green eyes.

"I've been married nearly nine years now." Steve answered him, his mouth quirking up into a half smile as he lifted his left hand up out of habit so the other man could see the platinum wedding ring on his finger. The same ring he had never taken off since his wife had placed it on his finger on the day of their wedding.

"Nice, how is Danni by the way? Still your partner in and out of work" Lee remarked as he picked up his bottle and took a sip.

"We're still happily married but Danni actually retired from Five-O at the end of September last year." Steve corrected him with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "We both decided that with the kids and everything it would be good if one of us was at home and had a steady schedule. The thing with Five-O is that the hours are crazy."

"Yeah of course that makes sense. I remember Cat mentioning in passing a couple of years back that you were Dad to…" his voice trailed off for a moment as he frowned in thought before speaking again. "Four kids now weren't it?" He guessed, sighing when Steve shook his head with a smile.

"We had another son since then so we have five kids together though we technically have six if you count my step daughter Grace, she's currently studying Marine Biology at college on the mainland." Steve told him, a hint of pride coming to his voice as he thought of Grace and everything she was accomplishing.

"Five kids, I should have known, you were always an overachiever when we were at Annapolis together. Tell me about them" He suggested with a laugh.

"What can I say, it was clearly meant to be. Emily was first then she was followed by twin boys, then we had another girl and then Kieran came to finish the family." Steve said with a shrug, "What about you, how are you finding marriage and fatherhood, I know Cat mentioned in passing that you were parents but I didn't chase, I meant to call but things have been a bit…" His voice trailed off as he picked up his bottle and took a long sip.

"Yeah man we're good, married life is even better than I had hoped it would be. We live in San Diego now and both work out of the Naval base there so we get to do what we love while still having a stable home. We've got two kids now, a boy and a girl, since it turns out that you're not the only one who can manage twins. Though since you're here in San Diego yourself I guess you could figure that much out yourself." Lee said before he glanced around the crowded room. "Speaking of Danni and the kids where are they? Are they back at the hotel or something because we should really get together while you're all here. You can come around for dinner one evening. Cat would be thrilled to see you and you can both meet Alfie and Willow." He offered with a grin which lessened when Steve remained quiet for a moment, his eyes fixed on the table before he looked up.

"Danni and the kids are back in Hawaii at the moment, I'm here alone." He told him.

"Danni's in Hawaii, well it makes sense I guess if you're here about work since she's retired and all." Lee said, frowning when Steve shook his head. "So you're not here for work? If that's the case then why are you here while your wife and children are in Hawaii? Aren't you and Danni always joined at the hip."

"I needed to get away for a bit." Steve said, the answer causing Lee's eyes to widen.

"You needed to get away for a bit? From your family?" Lee repeated in disbelief, something which Steve picked up on as his shoulder hunched up. "Why?"

"Look Lee, so much has happened recently what with work and my mother and then with Kieran, everything just… it just all came at once and there was nothing I could do to stop it or fix it so I figured that some time away from everything and everyone would help me to sort my head out and figure out what went wrong. The sooner I figure it out, the sooner I can go home." Steve said, wincing at how callous the plan sounded when he said it out loud to someone.

"You're going to have to back up a bit McG because you've lost me now. What happened with your mother and with Kieran? Kieran is your youngest kid right?" Lee queried as he placed his beer glass back on the table and leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Steve's face.

"My mother died earlier this year." Steve admitted. "I tried to save her, even went down to Mexico to find her and reason with her but when I did she… well let's just say that she wasn't interested in getting any help from me and then she died when I was there, in front of my eyes."

"Jesus" Lee breathed.

"Yeah and then with Kieran, well he was born premature because of a mistake which I made and I… it was my fault and Danni says she doesn't blame me for it and she doesn't think I'm to blame but Danni has always tried to see the best in people including me and this time I don't deserve it, I don't deserve her forgiveness. Kieran died because of me, he didn't breathe for twenty five seconds when he was born, do you have any idea what that feels like, I can still hear Danni's cry in my head from when she thought he wasn't going to make it." Steve said, his hand tightening around the bottle tight enough that it made a creaking sound.

"But your son is okay now, right?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, he made it because he's a fighter but it doesn't change the fact that he'll have to be watched closely at least for the first few years of his life. Then there was the final straw." Steve sad, unable to stem the words now that he had begun to tell his story.

"The final straw." Lee said, almost hesitantly as though he was worried to find out what that was.

"Yeah Wo Fat, you remember him right, well his wife who no one knew existed appears out of the blue and kidnaps Danni from the car which she then set alight before she proceeds to torture my wife because as she stated Danni is the most important thing in my life so she took her, all because she wanted a damn cypher which my Mom has left for me and had delivered after her death to my family home, where my children and my wife live."

"Fuck" Lee swore, looking sick. "Is Danni okay?"

"She is now but it was touch and go for a while and all I could think was that all of this was my fault, every single piece of it. Everything which has happened to us as a family is because of me and my old job or my messed-up family. None of it has happened because of Danni. Her life would be safer and better without me in it. Her past doesn't contain half the shit that mine does. She has a mother who loves her and calls her up at least three times a week and texts her daily and has always been there for her. The same with her Dad, he has no problem showing Danni that he loves her and that he's proud of her and then obviously they love the kids."

"When did all of this go down?" Lee asked, leaning back in his chair with a shocked look on his face.

"Three and a half weeks ago." Steve replied tonelessly.

"Wait, so Danni nearly died three and a half weeks ago and you're here in San Diego drinking a beer rather then being there for her and the kids?" Lee stated in disbelief.

"I told you, they are all better off without me at the moment. I can't be there for them like they want when my head is like this, it's better for everyone if I get myself sorted first." Steve said, noting the silence that followed which was broken finally by Lee who sounded extremely pissed off, attracting Steve's attention from his dark thoughts

"You selfish son of a bitch McG" Lee hissed at him, keeping his voice low. "What the hell are you thinking? Now is not the time for you to be running away from everything."

"I'm not running away from anything Lee, I'm…" Steve began to say, stopping when Lee merely spoke over his as though he had remained silent.

"That's bullshit and you know it, you are running away. I'm sorry buddy that your life has been shit over the past year I really am but you have a hell of a lot going for you as well regardless of the bad stuff. Yes, you lost your mum and that sucks because even if you weren't close she was still your mom but weren't you raised by your Aunt who treated you like her son and who you've said is like a second mother to you, one who was better then your actual mother? Well she's still there for you and probably worried out of her mind for you. Has she abandoned you?" The blond demanded, waiting until Steve shook his head in response. "And Kieran after a rocky start is making leaps and bounds right and you still have Danni, who after everything, is still at your side, she still loves you and has given you a family and her love and you repay all of this how? By essentially abandoning her so you can go and clear your head when she's barely out of hospital after being tortured and therefore you're not even allowing her a chance to rest and recover because she has to step up and deal with your five children and no doubt have to try and explain to them where their Daddy is."

"I…" Steve began, stopping at the sick feeling which rushed over him at his friend's

"What you need is help Steve, you need to talk to a professional about all of this and there is absolutely no shame in that, I spoke to someone after what happened to me and it helped. What you need right now is not space to clear your head, what you need is to be around your family and your wife and children and that Ohana you're always talking about. They will help you with all of this but they can't do that if you don't let them. Go away by all means, travel around the mainland, travel around the world if you need to but do it with your wife and kids. Don't leave them behind when they no doubt need you just as much as you need them."

Steve stared at him for a moment.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, what have I done?" He demanded in horror.

"You've done nothing which can't be fixed." Lee said comfortingly. "Look I'll call Cat and explain the situation and ask her to postpone her parents for tonight since they wouldn't have arrived yet. Come and say with us for the night man and tomorrow we'll get you back on a plane to Hawaii and back to where you belong okay? I know it may not seem like it right now McG, especially with everything you've been through which for the record would knock anyone down to their knees but things will be okay."

"Alright" Steve said numbly, allowing the other man to guide him out of the bar and towards where a car was parked, his mind whirling with what Lee had said to him.

Just what had he done.

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