Guardian
A/N: This one is shorter than usual, but I wanted to get one more posted before I leave for the week. The next update will not be up until at least 12/1 due to travel. For those in the US, have a wonderful holiday!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them.
Chapter 31
Beth rested on her side, one hand softly rubbing Grace's back where slept. The little girl had quietly cried out in her sleep a few moments before, but thankfully seemed to settle quickly.
She wondered how long her granddaughter would struggle with the nightmares. It was difficult to imagine what it was like for someone so young to witness something so horrible. Grace's tendency to take after her father would certainly help. They shared a certain tenacity, a determination to endure, to live, that served them well.
That Williams' trait couple with the all-encompassing love of the people surrounding her would pull Grace through, Beth was certain of that.
Mama Williams struggled to imagine how badly the day had almost turned out. Despite his rough history with her son and the rest of Five-0, she was immensely grateful to the governor for his arrival on scene. While she hoped things would have eventually come to the same conclusion, she imagined it would have taken hours or even days longer and included a great deal more harsh words.
Stifling a yawn, Beth allowed her eyes to slip closed again. Her last thought as she drifted off to sleep was a hope that Steve was successful in comforting her eldest son. Part of her wished she was the one do it, but she had a feeling Danny needed Steve's particular brand of love and comfort to get through his current struggle.
/
Steve watched through the scope of his sniper rifle as one of his teammates struggled against the armed militant holding a gun to the back of his head. Unfortunately, Jackson was much larger than the man was and his body blocked any possible shot.
As an enemy patrol approached behind him, the Seal hoped his cover held, hoped that they moved on quickly in case a clear shot became available. Unfortunately, the men nearly stepped on him as they moved to look down at the camp.
Hearing them laugh about the dumb American, Steve forced himself to remain calm. Attacking them for mouthing off about Jackson's predicament would only make things worse and he needed to maintain any chance he had for salvaging the situation; any chance to walk out of here with his team still alive.
Just as body's started to shift to allow for a clean shot, Steve saw Jackson's face through the scope, saw the almost imperceptible shake of his head, saw the "don't take the shot" mouthed at him. A split second later the captor's gun fired and Jackson fell to the ground in a pool of blood.
McGarrett knew Jackson had just sacrificed himself so the team could get away. If he'd taken the shot and saved the captive man the two men in front of him would have killed him and there would still be no guarantee that Jackson would make it out of the camp alive.
Remaining frozen in place, he tried to make his mind focus on the mission as he waited for the two men on patrol to move away from his position. All the while, his eyes remained focused on the lifeless body of his teammate, his friend, in the camp below. Even after the enemy left and it was safe to move, he couldn't tear his eyes away.
"Steven." He heard a voice call from far away, but the voice was out of place. It wasn't his team and they would never call him by that name. "Babe, come back to me. Come on Steven." The voice kept calling and he wanted to turn to find it, but he couldn't look away.
"Please babe." The voice begged as the sight of Jackson's body began to blur away. "You're home. You're safe. Come on babe; wake up!" As the voice began to sound more frantic, his eyes opened.
It took him a moment to figure out where he was. He wasn't on top of that hill; he was home in his bed. As reality flooded back, he turned his head and found a very worried Danny lying on his side, but carefully maintaining a safe distance.
Danny knew better than to try to wake Steve from a nightmare using physical contact; knew the self-preservation instinct that would take over if the Seal felt physically threatened. The look on his lover's face was no longer that of the hardened military man, it was the look of the lost boy that had just witnessed something terrible and blamed himself.
"Steven, babe, come here." Danny whispered the words as he stretched one arm out on the bed in front of him, raising the other in invitation. He'd expected the taller man to hesitate, to insist that he was fine and they should just go back to sleep.
What he didn't expect was the Seal's complete and utter lack of resistance. Steve slid across the space between them, knocking Danny onto his back as he curled around him. The normally stoic man said nothing as he rested his heard over his lover's heart.
Danny felt the moisture of silent tears hit his chest, but said nothing. He simply held the Seal, running his fingers through his short hair and let him cry.
Whatever nightmare this was, Danny readily imagined it was some godforsaken classified op and he'd never hear the details to know why it tortured Steve. As he held on tight, he was very thankful that Steve would see Dr. Thompson later that morning.
After several silent moments, he felt Steve's body begin to relax and heard his breathing slow as he slipped into a deeper sleep. Snuggled tightly against the larger and warmer body, the detective quickly felt himself drifting off as well.
/
Cracking his eyes open, Steve was still wrapped around his partner. He'd slept surprisingly well after his nightmare, usually he'd spend the rest of the night staring at the ceiling.
Carefully extricating himself from Danny's arms, he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his lips before slipping from the bed. Avoiding the squeaky part of the floor, he moved quickly to grab his swimming trunks and get ready.
In less than five minutes, he was in the kitchen. This time the note on top of the towel simply read, "I love you! – Mom." He scrawled a quick "I love you too" underneath before grabbing the towel and the waiting bottle of water from the fridge.
Dropping the items into one of the chairs, he approached the water's edge slowly. It was a beautiful Hawaiian morning, the sun barely creeping over the horizon the water seemed to beckon to him.
When the water nearly reached his chest, he dove, taking it slow to start. He spent the first several minutes focusing on his breathing and the feel of his muscles working as he sliced through the water. He took that time to clear his mind.
As he picked up his pace, his mind shifted back to the coming appointment with Dr. Thompson. Unsure of how much time he had with the doctor, he tried to organize his thoughts, decide what things he absolutely had to cover.
The nightmare was primary. Rationally, he knew there was nothing he could have done to save Jackson without risking the safety of the rest of the team, but part of him still felt like he'd sacrificed his teammate for his own survival.
Second to that was Grace. He valued Dr. Thompson's opinion and wanted to talk through everything that had happened and any ideas on how he could continue to help her.
Of course, Steve also suspected the topic of his partner would come up. He was a bit nervous about that part of the conversation. DADT's recent repeal meant he could talk about it, but it was new territory. There was no guarantee that the doctor would be open and accepting, but the Seal refused to hide such a vital part of his life. If he'd learned anything in his time with Dr. Thompson, it was the need to be completely honest with him for the sessions to actually do any good.
After what he estimated was about an hour, Steve emerged from the water. Swiping the water from his eyes, he spotted Danny in a chair intently watching him. He immediately felt a wide grin spread across his face.
"Hey there good lookin'." He accepted the water bottle from his partner and took a long drink.
"Have a good swim out there with the rest of your aquatic family?" Danny laughed as he began drying his lover. He knew Steve was capable for doing it himself, but he enjoyed the chance.
Chuckling as the question, Steve nodded. "Yes. Did you enjoy sleeping in?"
"I don't think being awake and outside at this hour counts as sleeping in, but yes. I enjoyed my time in bed." Continuing to dry the Seal, he gave up his attempt to resist temptation and leaned in to place a kiss over his heart.
"Are you okay?" The detective asked, a hint of worry in his voice. Steve looked calm enough, but he was worried after last night.
"Should I be the one asking you that question?" Steve didn't answer initially.
"I am just fine. Someone took very good care of me last night, but you didn't answer my question." He reached up and caressed the Seal's cheek.
Leaning into the warm hand, Steve closed his eyes for a brief moment. "I'm good, Danno. Slept surprisingly well after…" He couldn't quite bring himself to finish the question.
"Good. Now let's go see what the ladies are concocting for breakfast this morning." He let his hand fall from Steve's face, grabbing his hand instead as he pulled him toward the house.
"I love you, Danno." The Seal followed obediently.
"I love you too." Danny smiled.
/
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