I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or its characters, it belongs to CBS and its creators.

Chapter Seven

Despite being filled with rage, Steve actually made a clear decision to let Danny drive so he didn't wrap them around a light pole on the way there. Danny was thankful to finally be able to drive, but he was also concerned, especially with the way Steve glared out the window as they drove to the destination. Okay, yeah, he'd seen Steve get angry and over the top with his rescue missions, from Mary to Catherine, and his mother, and their team. Danny had seen firsthand how Steve reacted during those kind of missions, like during the extraction to get Chin out of Halawa after being wrongly thrown in by the Delano brother. Steve had been worried, and had taken Kamekona's helicopter to get them in, and he remained calm, despite glaring at the warden and taking down multiple prisoners, but it was all for Chin in the end. And then when Catherine was taken NLM during the hostage situation at the Palace and the panic he went into, Danny was sure he would have a panic attack at that moment.

But this silence terrified Danny. Steve was never silent when trying to save somebody he cared about and this was a new level. Was it because Alyx is his daughter? Because she was the only other blood relative living besides Mary and his mother? Or was it because they had somehow become close with the ten minutes they had in the hospital and Steve's visit to ask her about Montoya?

The way Steve was silent, stared out the window while he fidgeted with his thigh holster, and made no move to make conversation was concerning and scary for Danny, in more ways than one. His breathing was slow, deep and his cheeks were unusually red, probably from the fluster of being angry. He did throw his phone at the wall after Montoya hung up, which caused them all to duck and quickly start getting ready. They call Duke, who got HPD ready, and also called SWAT just in case they needed heavy back up.

Danny looked ahead at the road, really hoping they could save and bring back Alyx alive or else he was sure that Steve would never get over this.

Steve somehow felt... Good.

His senses were on fire. He could feel better, he could see better, he could hear better and he could smell better. He could think better, and he knew where everyone was at, watching his six, on his left and right, could barely feel the gravel underneath his boots as he walked carefully to the front doors of the warehouse. Danny was watching his back, Lou on his left, and Junior on his right. Tani was watching above, in case for an above ambush, with other police officers and SWAT members surrounding the building and watching them closely.

Steve gestured to the lock on the warehouse doors, and the officer quietly came up with the bolt cutter, snipping the lock off and swatting it off so Steve could open it.

Once the doors was open, they quietly entered the warehouse that was filled with different crates and items, and he headed toward the middle. He really couldn't wait to get his hands on Montoya and if he hurt Alyx, Montoya would be sorry.

A

Alyx slowly came to, her eyes fluttering open. Immediately, everything came back. The meeting with Montoya, being knocked out, waking up and being knocked out again, and now she could feel rope digging into her wrists and ankles. Something, probably a cloth, was in her mouth to keep her from yelling out.

Alyx lifted her head slowly, a headache surging through her head and causing a horrible pound. Her eyes moved around before landing on movement behind a crate, before seeing Steve peak out. She blinked before flicking her eyes up to the rafters, seeing a glimmer of a gun, before looking back at Steve and shaking her head, her cry muffled.

"You know, it's a really bad idea to come to a warehouse with some of your friends. Should have come alone, Commander." Montoya's hand clamped around the back of her neck and she felt the cold front of a gun press against her head, his fingers stroking her neck carefully.

"Put the gun down, Montoya." Steve said slowly, him and his team slowly emerging from their hiding spots.

"Or what? You'll shoot me?" Rico grabbed her arm and hauled her up, keeping the barrel against her head.

"Give her to us, and you'll most likely get at least one life sentence." Tani said slowly. Rico laughed.

"You really think that scares me?" Rico hummed a bit, his finger tapping against her arm, and he tilted his head a bit.

"No, but a gun to your face should." Lou replied, raising his shotgun carefully.

"Um... I think you should let me go, considering getting shot with a shotgun is not fun and as much as I would love to see your mangled corpse, I think I'll leave that to Steve, no?" Alyx jabbed her elbow into his stomach, causing him to gasp and surprisingly he didn't accidentally pull the trigger, probably had it on safe mode, the moron, and she slammed her tied hands into his face before taking off.

All hell broke loose after that.

Steve fired a couple of rounds before continuing on, his heart pounding. After Alyx pulled that stunt, she disappeared and gunfire broke through. Where did that girl go? After the chaos happened, they all split up to take out whatever Montoya had with him, and Steve set out to find Alyx, hoping she wasn't on the run and became a fugitive, like he's done in the past. Damn, the McGarrett family had a really bad habit of being on the run and a bad history of having secrets.

Steve thought he was hallucinating that one word he never thought he'd hear until the gunshot.

"Dad!"

It felt like slow motion as he turned around, watching as Alyx landed a punch to Montoya's face and knocked him out cold, standing up and kicking the gun away. Somehow she got her bonds off, and as she stumbled back, his eyes slowly drifted down to her left side, where blood was rapidly staining her white tank top.

Alex pressed her hand to the wound, drawing it back and seeing the blood, before turning her head, giving him a pained smile.

"Guess this is payback, huh?" She swayed, and he dropped his gun, running to her and catching her right before she hit the ground. Blood was staining her tank top fast, and he knew she was unconscious judging by her moaning and pale face.

"Alyx, Alyx, stay with me!" His voice was horribly pathetic, and cracked but he didn't care. He pulled off his vest and threw it aside, pulling off his button down and pressing it to the wound, making her grunt.

"Danny!" He cried. "Danny!" A couple of seconds later, Danny and the others appeared around the corner, running up. As soon as they saw the situation, Junior pulled out his phone and called an ambulance, Danny kneeling down in front of him.

"S-She's lost a lot of blood." Steve managed out, his voice choked with fear.

"An ambulance is on their way." Danny said gently, watching Steve hug Alyx close, keeping the shirt pressed on her wound, his breathing shallow.

"She'll be okay, Steve..."

The bullet barely missed her liver, but the surgeons had to do surgery to dig out the bullet so it didn't end up going into her liver and tearing up any other tissue. So Alyx was in surgery for about three hours, and Steve waited in painful agony in the waiting room. Those who survived the raid from Montoya's group were being treated for their wounds in a different hospital, and Montoya was in lock up at the Palace. Danny had sent him a message that he was still knocked out from Alyx's punch, so they were waiting for him to wake up to interrogate him.

A coffee cup extended in front of him and he looked up, seeing Danny standing there, another cup in his hands, along with a bag from their favorite coffee place.

"Hey." Danny said softly and Steve took the cup, watching Danny sit next to him, setting the bag on the table. "Have you heard anything?" Steve shook his head.

"Last update was an hour ago. Said that the bullet shattered and they're pulling out the fragments now..." He rubbed his eyes as Danny rubbed his back comfortingly, his mind reeling with paranoia.

"She's a McGarrett, Steve..." Danny said. "She'll make it." Steve glanced at him and nodded a bit, before looking down and covering his face with his hands.

"I can't lose her, Danny... She's the only other relative I have besides Mary, and if I lost her too..." Steve felt his throat close at the thought, and he resisted the tears that welled up in his eyes.

It was quiet for a few minutes while Steve regained his composure, and then Danny patted his back.

"Steve, doctor is here." He looked up to see the surgeon smiling softly, and thankfully there was no sadness or sympathy in it. Steve stood as did Danny and the surgeon raised his hands before Steve could pelt him with questions.

"She's fine." Steve released a very heavy breath that he was holding, and Danny patted his back. "She lost a good amount of blood, but we managed to get all of the bullet fragments out and there was no damage to any vital organs. Barely missed her liver, and there was some minor tissue damage, but that will heal over time." Steve nodded, looking down.

"H-How long will she be in here?"

"Two to three weeks. We want to monitor her closely until there's signs of the wound closing and the tissue healing, so we'll keep her here under close monitoring." Steve nodded.

"Thank you... Can I see her?"

They walked in as an officer was tightening the cuffs on the bar of the bed, then reached for Alyx's wrist.

"Don't put those on her." Steve growled and the cop stopped.

"But, Commander, she's a prisoner. It's protocol."

"Don't put them on her, officer." Danny looked between them, then gently waved the cop down, and he undid the cuffs, then walked out, giving an unsure glance at Steve before leaving.

Steve sighed, sitting heavily in the chair by her bed, and he resisted taking her hand in his, with Danny in the same room, after all. Danny also sat, in the chair next to him and watched Alyx's chest rise and fall steadily, the heart monitor beeping softly.

"You, uh..." Danny cleared his throat. "When you cried out, I thought you were hurt, but then I saw you clutching Alyx to your body, and... You're really close to her, aren't you?" Steve looked at him, raising his eyebrow.

"What do you mean...?" Danny looked down.

"Tani was going through the visitor logs, and... And the only visitor she had in the past couple of months was you. And a lot of them lasted more than two hours." Steve stared at him, then narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, so?"

"Steve, why would you visit the woman who shot and almost killed you? I get that she's your daughter and everything, but still. She's serving life, and if you get anymore closer, it's just going to hurt you." Steve stared at him coldly, making Danny raise his hands in defense, about to continue when Steve scowled.

"You don't-" His voice cracked. "These past few months I've gotten to know her, and I can tell you that she is guilty about shooting me. And I know the guilt and shame when I see it, okay? You don't know her, Danny. I do."

"Steve, I'm just looking out for you, okay? I don't want you hurt." Danny said and Steve glared once more.

"I think you should go, Danny." He lifted the coffee cup a bit. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Steve..." Steve shook his head.

"Just... Danny, please go."

"Okay, favorite movie." Alyx said as she moved her chess piece.

After Danny left the hospital, he went back to the Palace and pulled up the video recordings of their visits, and right now he was on their third one. So far, they were just getting to know each other, and the first ever visit, Alyx had done a traditional Japanese bow of apology, and even cried when he forgave her. And the tears were genuine, too.

"Oh man... Uh..." Steve blushed a bit, moving another piece, and blowing out a breath. "Maybe... Uh... Captain America? Any Marvel movie, really."

"My favorite is Winter Solider, hands down." Steve laughed.

"You sort of remind me of Captain America's and Bucky's lovechild, to be honest." Alyx laughed, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Thanks, I guess."

"Just saying."

"And you remind me of Captain America. You know, both of you are named Steve, are heroes, list goes on." Steve hummed.

"Uh huh, so I've heard." Steve replied, watching her place a piece down, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Checkmate." She said proudly and he stared at the board, blinking a bit before whispering quietly:

"What the fu-"

"Hey, hey, language."

"How are you so good? That wasn't even ten minutes."

"Uh, you're good, I'm just... Better, I guess." And grinned smugly. Steve smiled and sat back in his chair while she rearranged the pieces, watching her with almost a fatherly look. Danny recognized it every time he worried over Grace and Charlie, and he felt his heart break a bit.

Jesus Christ, what the hell was he going to do?