CHAPTER 9

The end of the week found the Five-0 team even more disheartened. Despite spending long hours searching for anything that could give them a lead, they still had nothing. The primary crime scene still hadn't been discovered, the bullet that killed Perry hadn't been matched to anything in the system and there was no evidence to explain why Perry was so brutally murdered. The trail was going cold very quickly.

The Governor had apparently been under some pressure from the Navy to find the murderer. Governor Denning had begun calling every few hours to demand an update on the progress of the case. The answer was the same every time: no. The constant stress was starting to wear on the team.

It was early that Friday morning when their luck changed. The Five-0 team had been gathered around the smart table when Duke Lukela had called with some pertinent information.

"Hey Duke," Steve answered his phone after two rings.

"McGarrett," the sergeant replied succinctly. "Some of my guys found something that might help your case."

"Hang on, I'll put you on speaker," Steve said as he eyed his team. "Go ahead."

"We got a call this morning about shots fired out of a residence in Kailua. We cleared the scene and…well…I think you should get down here," Duke said.

"Why?" Danny asked, frowning at the phone.

"I believe we found the primary crime scene for both of your victims," Duke answered.

"What makes you say that?" Danny asked as he looked at the others.

"It's pretty…gruesome. I think it's best you see this for yourself."

The team exchanged concerned glances at Duke's admission.

"Okay. What's the address?" Steve asked the sergeant.

"3 Kalaka Place. You can't miss it," Duke replied.

"Thanks Duke. We are on our way," Steve said as he made to collect his gear.

"Roger that. See you soon, McGarrett," Duke said as he hung up.

After making sure they had their badges and guns, the team went to the parking lot to get in to their cars. Chin and Kono climbed into Kono's red Cruze while Steve and Danny hopped into the Camaro.

The drive over to the crime scene was silent as both Steve and Danny were lost in thought. Danny was looking out the window, watching the scenery flash by as Steve drove to the other side of the island. Danny side-eyed his partner and observed his tense shoulders and tight grip on the steering wheel.

"What are you thinking, Steve?" Danny asked, breaking the silence.

Steve almost jumped in his seat. "Huh?"

Danny turned to face Steve. "I asked you what you were thinking. Apparently you've been doing a lot of that lately. I've never seen you zone out so much. What's going on in that small brain of yours?"

Steve ignored Danny's jab. "This doesn't make any sense."

Danny sighed. "What doesn't make sense? You're going to have to be more specific."

"This case."

"What about it now?" Danny said, waving his hands. "It's not like anything has made sense during this entire case!"

"Why is the crime scene on the opposite side of the island to where we found the body?" Steve asked.

"Maybe because the killer wanted to throw us off their tracks?" Danny suggested.

"Okay, but Kailua is populated. How did no one report a gunshot when Perry was killed? Why is it only now, after we have been chasing our tails, that the killer slips up?"

"Okay, you make some good points. Let's see what the crime scene looks like before we jump to any conclusions, hm? Maybe Perry wasn't killed there. Maybe Duke is wrong."

Steve sighed. "Okay. You're right."

The silence resumed as each man was trapped in their own thoughts. Danny drummed his fingers restlessly on the arm rest as he watched the road. Steve continued to concentrate on driving. The energy in the car was unusual. Danny wondered what was going through his partner's mind, other than the obvious.

Steve had been more terse than usual. Ever since Danny had given Steve the redacted files, he had been more distant than before. And that was considering the fact Steve hadn't hung out with anyone on the team in months. Danny decided to take the opportunity while they were stuck in the car together to make some inroads into Steve's recent behaviour.

"So…" Danny said, breaking the spell.

Steve's forehead creased. "So?"

"I was thinking…" Danny said.

"Don't hurt yourself," Steve muttered.

"Very funny. I was thinking about taking Gracie to the beach this weekend."

"That sounds awesome, Danno. Which beach are you going to?" Steve said, his eyes lighting up.

"Well…I was kind of hoping we could hang out at your place, maybe have a barbecue and make a day of it?" Danny asked quietly.

Steve's hands gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles almost turning white with the pressure. The crease in his forehead grew larger as Steve thought about the proposal.

"I'm sure Grace just wants to spend some time with her Danno. I would just be in the way. You two should go to the Sea Life Park in Waimanalo. They've got dolphins there and everything. The tide pools there are awesome," Steve suggested.

Danny thought that over for a moment. "That actually sounds awesome. Grace will love it. Why don't you come with us, show us the cool spots?"

Steve shook his head. "Nah, that's for you and Gracie to discover on your own. Trust me."

"I will make the suggestion to Grace. But, she really wants see her Uncle Steve. It has been at least six months since the two of you have hung out. She misses you."

Steve remained silent.

"So, how about it? Maybe we could go out to Waimanalo and then go back to your place for a barbecue. We could invite the team over for dinner, make a day of it," Danny suggested. "How about this weekend?"

Steve tensed. "Maybe not this weekend."

"Why not? Come on, Steve. It's been months. It will be good for all of us. You can't be worried about cleaning because I know for a fact that your house is always impeccably tidy. I don't see what the problem is—"

Suddenly, Steve shouted, stopping Danny mid-rant, "Fuentes is the problem!"

For once, Danny had no words.

Danny's plan had been to talk Steve into submission. Even if he did get an answer, that wasn't the one he had expected.

Pedro Fuentes had come into their lives like a hurricane seven months ago. He had kidnapped Steve and Grace in an attempt to get Matthew Williams to pay the money he owed. Steve managed to save Grace not just once, but twice. He had also managed to take out Fuentes, but not without getting hurt himself. The physical wounds had healed easily, but the psychological ones? Well, obviously they were still there, lurking in the background.

"Steve?" Danny asked quietly.

Steve immediately regretted having spoken. He avoided looking at Danny, instead focusing his attention on the road, on anything but what Danny was asking him. Steve breathed deeply in an attempt to get his sudden rage under control. Danny always managed to get under his skin and get him to approach the sensitive issues, especially the ones he didn't even realise he had.

"Steve?" Danny asked again.

Steve didn't reply. He just continued to concentrate on the road, hoping Danny would get bored with the conversation and let it go. Except he knew that would never happen. It was Danny he was talking about, after all.

"You know that Fuentes is gone, right? He can't hurt you anymore…He can't hurt anyone else," Danny said quietly.

Steve nodded, but still didn't speak. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, then…he didn't know what he was really afraid of.

"Okay, good…I know what you went through when you were with him was horrible, but just know it's over, okay?" Danny continued.

Steve nodded again, his grip on the steering wheel still tight, but not as severe as earlier.

"Is this the reason you haven't invited anyone over in a while?" Danny asked. "Why you've been avoiding us?"

"Yeah," Steve admitted, his voice hoarse.

"Okay. Well, like I said before, he's gone and he's not coming back. So he can't hurt you anymore."

Steve shook his head. "That's not it."

"Steve, I'm not a mind reader. You have to explain it to me so I can understand," Danny said, using his 'Gracie' voice.

Steve sighed. "I know Fuentes is gone and that he can't come back, but I have a dangerous job, I have lots of enemies. Enemies that might, one day, come looking for me or hurt the people that are close to me."

"You think that you would be putting us in danger if we came to your house?" Danny asked incredulously, wondering where Steve got that idea from.

Steve shrugged. "Yeah. No…I mean… I'm more worried that I won't be able to protect you if anything happened."

"What?"

"Look, that night when you went to get the chocolate chips, my guard was down. I was having fun, making pancakes with Grace. I heard someone coming in the front door. I assumed it was you, so I left Grace in the kitchen. There were three men. Or so I thought. The fourth one got to Grace without me even seeing it. I couldn't protect her. I failed to protect her. In my own house, on my own turf. I can't have that happen again! I can't put Grace in danger!" Steve said very quickly.

"So, your solution to that problem is to shut yourself away? To push us, your team, your Ohana, away? Do you know how messed up that is?" Danny said, exasperated.

"Honestly, Danny, I didn't even realise I was doing it. I've been so caught up in other things that it didn't even cross my mind until you brought it up," Steve replied.

Danny looked at Steve. Sometimes his partner could be so thick, it was hilarious. At other times, he wore his heart on his sleeve. Steve always cared about everyone else first. In this case, everyone's safety was a priority over his own wellbeing.

"Steve, you can't protect us from everything. It's just not possible. Besides, it wasn't even one of your enemies that time. It was one of mine. If anyone is to blame, it's me. If it didn't happen at your house, it would have happened at the park, or at Rachel's house, or even mine. Then you would be telling me the exact same thing I am telling you right now. You are not to blame for what happened. Fuentes is to blame. He tormented you, he threatened Grace, he tore apart your house. Fuentes did that. Not you."

Steve smirked at Danny. "Thanks for the pep talk, partner."

"Doofus, I'm serious."

Steve's face grew serious. "I know."

Danny clapped his hands together. "So, barbecue this weekend?"

"You don't give up, do you?"

"Nope."

"Seriously, though. Can we hold off on it for a while?"

Danny frowned at Steve. "Why? What about the talk we just had?"

"It was a good talk. I feel better now. But, I still need some time, okay?" Steve said with a small smile.

Danny was surprised at Steve's candid response. "Okay. Let me know when you are ready. What do you think about coming out to Waimanalo with us, then?"

Steve's smile disappeared again. "Danny…"

"What? You are seriously still questioning it?"

"I know you said you trust me with Grace. But I still don't trust myself with her. I need some more time before I'm ready to do that. Please try to understand that, Danny," Steve pleaded.

To say Danny was confused was an understatement. Since when did Steve I-eat-grenades-for-breakfast McGarrett ever doubt himself? Danny sighed. He knew the answer to that. Ever since Fuentes came and brought down his partner's already unstable walls.

"Have you talked to your therapist about all this?" Danny asked.

Steve turned his head to face Danny before turning his eyes back to the road. "Where did that come from?"

"You don't sound like yourself, that's all," Danny said quietly.

Steve was quiet for a moment before he answered. "To answer your question; no, I haven't talked to my therapist about it."

"Okay. Are you going to?"

"No, Danny, I'm not…I'm not going to because I'm not seeing him anymore."

Danny's mouth shot open. "When did you stop going to therapy?"

Steve sighed. "After the first session," he answered quietly.

"What?" Danny yelled, causing Steve to wince at the sudden increase in volume in the confined space of the car. "Why would you do that? I thought you said you wanted to get help!"

"Danny…" Steve started to explain.

"No. I mean after everything I said at the hospital and the weeks afterwards, you said you were going to do this. Yet, you didn't bother to mention that you'd stopped?" Danny said angrily.

"Danny…" Steve whispered.

"Seriously, what were you thinking? No wonder you are more messed up than usual. You didn't think this was worth mentioning to your team? The team that is built on trust? How can we trust you to be our leader if you don't tell us things like this, things that could compromise us?"

Steve's shocked face let Danny register what he had just said. Before Danny could think of anything to say that could possibly take back what he had said, Steve's face turned to stone and he returned to driving in silence.

Danny felt his heart drop into his stomach. He knew he had just hurt his partner. Sometimes, he let his mouth get away from him. When he worries, he rants. Loudly. He knew he didn't mean half of what he had just said. But did Steve? His wording, and probably his tone, were completely off. Now, Steve probably thought that his team and especially his partner didn't trust him enough to do his job.

Danny had definitely messed up.

All Danny wanted was to get his partner to open up. Instead, Steve had withdrawn behind his walls again. Danny really didn't mean what he said. He didn't think that Steve would ever put himself in a position that could compromise the safety of the team. Hell, the talk they had had just moments ago in the car told Danny exactly that.

'Why couldn't I just keep my damn mouth shut?' Danny thought to himself angrily. 'You really screwed up this time.'

Danny looked over at Steve, unsure if he should say anything. Steve's body was far from relaxed as he drove towards the crime scene. Danny looked miserably out the window, wondering if he even had a chance to repair their friendship after this.

The remainder of the drive to the crime scene felt like it took a year instead of the fifteen minutes it actually took. Steve parked the Camaro in front of a large, two-story beach house. Ordinarily, the house would be a beautiful sight that most people would walk by and admire in jealousy. This Friday morning, however, it was surrounded by police vehicles with their red and blue lights flashing and yellow crime scene tape extending around the perimeter of the property.

Steve parked the car and got out without so much as a backwards glance at Danny as he ducked under the crime scene tape. Danny heaved a sigh before exiting the car himself. Chin and Kono pulled up behind the Camaro a few moments later. Chin and Kono joined Danny outside the house, taking in the chaos that was usually present at a crime scene.

Kono looked around before asking, "Where's the boss?"

Danny waved a hand in the direction of the house. "I assume he's somewhere in there."

Chin's eyebrows rose. "Why aren't you with him?"

"He was in a bit of a hurry," Danny replied, not meeting their eyes.

Chin and Kono exchanged concerned glances over Danny's head. They knew something was wrong.

"Danny…" Kono said. "What happened?"

One look at the cousins and Danny caved. "Okay, we may have had a bit of an argument."

Kono smirked. "A bit of an argument? What, like a discussion about whether pineapple goes on pizza?"

"Not exactly," Danny said.

"Okay," Chin said, drawing out the word.

Danny sighed and looked up at the sky. "I might have said something that Steve misunderstood. Although, I don't think he misunderstood it as much as I said something I really didn't mean. I didn't give him a chance to explain and now he's mad."

Kono's eyebrows rose to match her cousin's. "What did you say to him?"

"We were just talking about the case. Then I asked him about having Gracie over at his place. You know how he's been really quiet lately, not his usual self, right?"

The cousins nodded.

Danny continued. "Well, we got down to the main reason behind that. The thing with Fuentes messed him up really good. He's worried he can't protect us, especially Grace."

"You told him you trust him with her, right?" Kono asked.

"Yeah. Of course. He knows that. The problem is he doesn't trust himself with her. He's worried that one of his enemies will come looking for him and we'll be caught in the crossfire."

"That's ridiculous. None of that was his fault," Chin remarked.

"I told him exactly that. He gets it. That's not what we were arguing about," Danny said.

"Okay, so what did you say?" Chin asked.

"I asked if he had told his therapist about it," Danny started.

Kono made a hissing sound. "Oh…big mistake."

Danny chuckled humourlessly. "Exactly. Anyway, he told me he hasn't been seeing his therapist since that first session. And I might've ranted a bit and somehow ended up saying that he could compromise us by withholding that kind of information."

"Danny," Chin moaned.

"I know. You should have seen his face. I don't know how I can make this right," Danny said despondently.

"Danny! Steve knows, deep down, that we all trust him. Just give him some time to process it. He'll come around. When he does, you had better have a really good apology ready," Kono said with a smile.

"Right. If he'll listen to me after this," Danny said sadly.

"Hey, you guys coming?" Steve's loud voice came from behind the crime scene tape.

"Yes, boss," Kono answered.

Danny sighed as he led the way to the house. Chin and Kono followed behind a few steps, exchanging yet another concerned look. They knew that Steve and Danny were best friends, but sometimes even best friends could be pulled apart. They just hoped this wasn't one such case.

They both knew that Steve had been having problems, especially since Fuentes had come along. They had all thought Steve was getting help dealing with it all. He had seemed better for a while there. They were disappointed, as apparently was Danny, to know that he wasn't getting the help he clearly needed. But they also knew that Steve would never put the team in danger intentionally.

Ever.