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

Chapter Twenty

"Do you love him?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Are you in love with him?"

"I... I think so..."

Danny went quiet as he mulled over the information and Alyx looked down, picking at her nails.

Suddenly, her eyes welled up with tears and he jumped at the sight.

"W-What? What's the matter?" She looked up at him, a tear falling form her right eye.

"What if he's disgusted by me? Like, I used to tell my adopted father everything. But when he died... I felt like my whole world collapsed. I knew I had my birth parents out there, and I loved my mother, yet at the same time, I just..." She gave out a puff of air, trying to suppress sobs. "I didn't have my first kiss until I was eighteen. I didn't lose it until I met Hank, and I certainly have never been in a relationship before." She paused. "Can you... Can I trust you to keep a secret?"

"Well... This is a secret. What else is there?" Alyx shifted uncomfortably in her seat before turning to him.

"Until I met Hank, I... I thought I was asexual." Danny stared at her, his eyes wide.

"But... The kiss...?"

"Throughout middle school and high school, I... I was avoided. I'm sure you know why. Anyway, I never got attached to anybody and never made friends. Even when I overheard the cheerleaders arguing who was the hottest on the football team, I would take a look at the lineup and felt unimpressed by them." She sighed. "Then in the academy, a guy and I were the only ones left after a bonfire and... We had a few drinks, so... We kissed, but nothing more. And then I met Hank... And... I was curious..." Danny looked down, digesting the information before talking again.

"When you were undercover though, you said that there were a lot of beautiful women in the club... What did that mean?" Alyx frowned at him like she didn't get his question.

"They were beautiful. I mean, not Hollywood or model beautiful, but still very pretty." She shrugged. "Why?"

"So... You like women, too?"

"I guess so."

"So that makes you bisexual." Alyx paused, giving him a very long and disturbing blank stare before realization crossed her face.

"I... I guess I am. Holy shit." Danny chuckled at her surprise tone, watching her slump and put her head against the headrest. She suddenly looked tired. The stress was clearly getting to her, and she looked much older than twenty two. She was definitely too young to be this stressed.

Without thinking, he reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Alyx looked over at him with a tiny smile.

"What should I do, Danny...?"

Steve was on the lanai when she got home. Junior didn't seem like he was home, so Alyx quietly went upstairs to take a shower and get a snack to compose herself before she faced him.

To say the least, it was terrifying as hell.

Alyx took a deep breath and stepped out. Eddie perked up at the sound of the door opening, then got up excitedly to run over to her.

"Hey, buddy!" She kneeled down and rubbed his face, giving him a kiss on the head before standing up again. Steve smiled at her, twirling his pen in between his fingers as he hovered his hand over a file, a beer bottle next to it.

"How was your day with Danny?"

"Did you know that I would be paired up with him?"

"Not until later that morning when Junior told me." Alyx rolled her eyes and took a seat across from him, Eddie walking up and laying his head on her leg. "So, how was it?"

Alyx filled him in about the day, starting with the noise complaint and ending with Captain Kei excitedly telling her that she will make an excellent cop.

Steve chuckled, his smile soft and gentle.

"Impressive. Much more fun than mine."

"What did you do today?" She asked. He lifted his pen, opening the file and writing his signature on the bottom. Then he dramatically closed it and pointed at it.

"That is what I've been doing all day." Alyx smiled.

"Sounds fun." Steve grunted at the reply, taking a swig of his drink and then leaning back in his chair, his head leaning back. He gave a yawn and closed his eyes.

"When will Junior be home?"

"I think he was going for shave ice with Tani. Not sure." Alyx nodded slowly, rubbing Riley's face happily before kissing his head. Then she sat up straight and looked at him.

"Steve." He stiffened at the change of tone, and she knew what that was about. His posture suggested he was guilty of something, and with the change of her tone, it seemed like he was scared that she found out. He sat up quickly, his eyes alarmed.

"Y-Yeah? What's wrong?" She carefully eyed him before adjusting to look at him fully.

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay... What?" Alyx looked down, almost as if she was ashamed, and a little bit of tension leaked out of his shoulders. "Alyx? Is everything okay?"

"I..." She looked away for a moment before looking back up at him.

"Hank and I... We... We made it official. We've started dating."

The stare she got was terrifying.

It was blank, void of all emotion, as if he'd just been told that a bomb was going to land on the house.

Finally, he blinked and he opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, but then closed it. He then intertwined his hands, staring off into space, his thoughts clearly somewhere else. She begin to feel uncomfortable, and eventually, looked up at him and stood.

"I'm... I'm going to go for a walk..."

And left without another word.

Danny watched the delivery guys finish up with the decoration delivery, and thanked them before turning around to come face to face with Alyx. He jumped back a couple of feet, putting his hand over his heart and groaning.

"Jesus Christ, you freaking ninja..." Alyx managed a tiny twitch of her lips before she looked ready to burst into tears. Danny frowned and took her arm, leading her inside. He sat her down then fetched a water bottle, twisting off the cap and handing it to her. She gratefully took it, taking a few sips before sniffing. He sat down next to her, putting his clipboard aside.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I... I told Steve that Hank and I made it official." Her shoulders slumped. "For a really long time, he just stared at me, and then it seemed like he was going to say something, but he didn't, and next he looked like he was plotting Hank's death, so I told him I was going for a walk to give him some space." Danny considered her words before frowning.

"Wait, are you telling me you walked here?" She nodded slowly and he released a sigh.

"Aye... Okay... Would you like to crash on my couch? My daughter and son are with their mom, so... I figured you need the space from him." Alyx's eyes welled up with tears, her nod soft and rapid. Hesitantly, he extended an arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her close and rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"It'll be okay."

Alyx woke up to the smell of bacon and pancakes cooking. She opened her eyes slowly, taking in the TV slowly before sitting up, pushing off the blanket and looking around.

Oh, right, she was in Danny's house.

Rubbing her face, she got up and hobbled to the kitchen, running a hand through her hair as she peaked into the kitchen to see Danny flipping a pancake onto a plate. He was wearing an apron, and he was on the phone with somebody.

"Yes, I know I'm supposed to pick up Grace and Charlie from school today. And I will, don't worry. I've just been busy with the restaurant." He paused as someone, Alyx guessed his ex-wife, talked on the other end. "Actually, it's going very fast thanks to a very organized and skilled person... No, not Steve. Remember Alyx?"

Alyx quietly went over to the cupboard and pulled out a glass, listening to his conversation. Danny sighed exasperatedly.

"No, Rachel. The one who shot Steve a few months ago." Alyx rolled her eyes at that. "Yes, that's the one. She's been helping us, which to you may seem weird, but there's more to the story than what I told you. Yes, Rachel, there is. Okay, look, I'm almost done cooking breakfast. And yes, I will pick up the kids. It's like they're mine or something. Okay, bye." He hung up, letting out a loud frustrated sigh and turned to pick up a pitcher filled with batter. At the sight of her, he nearly dropped it, jumping once more just like last night. Alyx grinned as she poured some ice into her glass. He did his little hand gesture with his fingers in a circle.

"Why?"

"Because I like seeing you jump."

"Sadist." She grinned, watching him pick the pitcher up, squeezing and putting a perfect pancake in the pan.

"What did you make?"

"Eggs, pancakes, bacon, hash browns and sausage." Her eyes widened.

"Holy shit, this is enough for the whole team." He chuckled.

"Well, if you're truly a McGarrett, you should have a big stomach, too." Alyx chuckled, sitting at the bar heavily and leaning forward to laying her head on the cool marble finish.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked as he flipped the pancake.

"Decent. Your couch is very comfortable." She couldn't see it, but he was smiling.

"Yeah, well, I've had more than one person crash on that couch. I'm always happy to lend it, I suppose." Alyx smiled tiredly.

"You're really nice, Danny... Thank you."

"Ah, it's nothing." But she could tell he was glad to be complimented. She crossed her legs, then looked at her water, watching the ice float to the top. She poked the glass with her finger, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Has Steve texted you at all...?"

"I texted Junior last night to tell him I was crashing somewhere else for the night, and he replied with an okay. I haven't spoken to Steve, and he hasn't reached out to me at all." Danny frowned as he shut off the stove and turned around to see her saddened look.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"It's ok ay." She gave him a tiny smile. "I'll be alright. He just needs time to... Process."

"He does process slower than normal human beings." Her smile grew and he patted her head. "Come on, let's eat."

With that, Alyx's mind was taken off Steve with food.