Disclaimer: Ideas are fictional; not making any money on this. Hawaii 5-0 belongs to CBS. That's okay because none of this would work on TV.
Family Life, Chapter 11
February 2022
Steve nervously adjusted his tie before slipping his jacket on. He turned to Danny who was also wearing a suit and tie. It was Saturday evening and the men were headed to one of the island's pricier resort hotels for a romantic dinner and a night away from the kids. It was two days before Danny's total knee replacement surgery, and Steve arranged for the time just between them. Mom and Dad were taking the boys to Crystal's for pizza, cartoons, and skeeball.
"Is my tie straight Danno?"
Steve's tie was perfect but Danny couldn't resist giving Steve a hard time. "Let me see. I don't know what you would do without me." Danny fiddled with Steve's tie, leaving it exactly as he found it.
Steve knew he was being played and didn't care. He was happy to see Danny in such a playful mood. Steve was serious when he answered Danny. "I don't know what I would do without you either. Danny, I don't even want to think about it." Steve learned over and kissed Danny very sweetly.
Danny blushed and grabbed his husband's hand. "Let's go before they give our reservations away."
Mom and Dad were waiting downstairs with the boys and a camera. It wasn't often that the men dressed up and Mom wanted a picture. It took a few minutes before they were on their way. Steve drove the Camaro so Mom and Dad would have the larger SUV for their outing.
The evening was everything Steve hoped for. Steve and Danny ordered different entrees and sampled the other's meal after sharing an appetizer. Steve ordered the dessert of the day, a huge slice of some sort of chocolate cake, to go and paid the bill. Their bags were waiting in their suite.
Danny was the first to lose his tie and pulled off his jacket. "This is a good idea Steve. I know that I've been a little difficult to live with since this surgery thing came up."
Steve slipped his tie off and sat back to watch Danny strip. Tomorrow he could worry again about Danny's knee and upcoming surgery but for tonight he just wanted to enjoy a night of seduction with his husband.
"Danny, I think you're allowed to be a little anxious about your knee. Continue on if you wish but please get comfortable." Steve leaned back on the bed and leered at Danny.
Danny caught the tone of Steve's voice and turned to look at Steve. Yeah, he was right. He had Steve's full attention.
Danny continued with his apologies but he wasn't giving it much attention. Instead he concentrated on a little striptease for Steve. Danny wasn't up for any special acrobatics tonight but he could do this for his lover.
Danny emptied his pockets and slipped his shoes off, giving thanks that he wore slip-on dress shoes tonight. He sat briefly to pull his socks off and then stood to face Steve again. Danny pulled his shirt out of his waistband and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. There was a little gray in his chest hair but Steve didn't care. He thought the view was spectacular.
After he folded the shirt neatly, Danny's belt came next. The belt snapped through the loops and Danny took his time rolling it up. His pants were next but Danny paused before undoing the hook. "Steven, are you going to lie there all night in your dress clothes. Why am I the only one getting naked?"
"But you're doing such a good job of it Danny. I'll let you finish first." Steve casually crossed one ankle over the other and waited for Danny to proceed.
Danny pulled his zipper down and let his trousers fall. Then he turned around before picking them up, making sure to wiggle his ass a little. Danny walked over to the closet and pulled out a hangar to hang up his pants. Then he did a little strut back to the bed and struck a pose. "See anything you like."
Steve gazed from the top of Danny's head to his toes, wincing when he saw how swollen one knee was. "I have always enjoyed the view except that you're hiding my favorite part."
Danny sat on the bed beside Steve. "Why don't I help you get rid of some of these clothes?" Danny started with the buttons on Steve's shirt and then helped him with his trousers. When Steve's clothes were folded neatly over a nearby chair, Danny rejoined Steve on the bed.
At first, the men were content to kiss and cuddle. Despite Steve's best efforts to lessen Danny's load, Danny ended most days exhausted and in a lot of pain. This was the first chance in weeks that Steve and Danny had to be intimate. Although both had experience in making love while one of them was injured, the pain from Danny's knee surgery would preclude anything serious for weeks.
"I've really missed you Danny. I've missed this. All these years we've been sleeping together, having your body next to me has been such a comfort. You keep the worst of my demons away. I'd never be the little spoon to anyone else."
"I've missed you too. Tomorrow is for the boys and Mom and Dad but tonight is just for us. And as much as I'm enjoying this, I think that we have too many clothes on."
"I completely agree with you Danno. How do you want to do this? Do you want the top or the bottom?"
Not for the first time, Danny appreciated having a male partner. Although it might not seem like a romantic question, Danny knew that Steve would be willing to do anything to keep him comfortable and maximize his pleasure. "You take the top and I want to be inside you."
Steve slid Danny's boxers off and shed his boxer briefs before reaching for the lube. "Roger that. I like a man who knows what he wants."
The remainder of the evening was everything that Steve had hoped for. Steve took it slow and easy, and then the couple spent some time in the Jacuzzi tub. Danny woke Steve sometime after 2 p.m. for an encore performance. Although forty-something is not so old, making love twice in one night didn't happen often anymore. Between raising two active boys and chasing the bad buys, Steve and Danny didn't have a lot of time for romance.
Danny woke up around dawn when his pain pill wore off. He tried to find a comfortable position but only succeeded in waking up Steve. Without saying a word, Steve went over to Danny's bag and got his pill. He detoured to pick up the cake from last night and a bottle of juice.
Danny reluctantly took the offered pill and chased it down with the juice. They moved to the balcony to watch the sunrise over cake and juice. Danny wasn't exactly a morning person but he enjoyed the quiet time with Steve. The conversation was light and the cake was very good.
Brunch wasn't until 10 a.m. so the men went back to bed for a couple of hours. They didn't sleep but enjoyed a little pillow talk. Danny was freaked out over the surgery. He was no stranger to hospitals, but usually there wasn't time to think about what was going to happen. Danny had weeks to ponder his future and the pre-op class at the hospital gave a lot more details than he wanted to know.
"Steven, do you know that technically I'm having my knee amputated? I talked to a guy from rehab. He hurt his knee in the Navy and gets disability from the VA. When he had his knee replacement surgery, the guy at VA told him knee replacement was considered an amputation."
"Okay, I think that you could have gone all day and not heard that. You know that they're not going to cut your leg off."
"I know but I'm scared, Steven. I'm in so much pain now, and they told me that the first few days are really rough. Some of the surgeons use a nerve block but my surgeon doesn't think that they are all that useful. I'll get a morphine pump for the first 24 hours but I talked to another guy who had the surgery last year. He told me that the problem with the pump is that you can't push the button when you're asleep. Then you wake up in the middle of the night in a lot of pain and the pump is empty."
"Danny, slow down. I'll stay with you babe and push the button for you. Nothing will happen to you on my watch. I promise that I'll give the nurses my death glare if they don't take good care of you."
"They won't let you spend the night. You won't be able to see me until after noon and they make everyone leave at 8 p.m. It was in the packet of papers that I got from the hospital."
"I won't be a visitor Danny. I'll be your protection detail. You're a high profile patient. You'll need a bodyguard while you're vulnerable to the criminal element of Hawaii. If I have to leave, Kono or Chin will stay with you. I've already talked to the governor. You'll only be in the hospital for three days."
"You talked to the governor? When were you going to share that little tidbit of information?"
"I just did Danno. Look, I'm not going to tell you that it's going to be easy. I can promise you that you have my support and you know that the boys will do anything they can. Plus Mom and Dad are here and want to help. Then there's our 5-0 ohana, Kamekona, Joe, and Cliff. Danny, you're in so much pain now. Once you have your surgery, your only job will be to recuperate."
"And after you finish your therapy, you will feel so much better. The pain will be gone and you'll have your life back. We can go hiking at the cabin and you can coach Jack and Jesse's team."
"I know that. Thanks for talking me down. I'm feeling better about the whole deal. If I asked nicely, could I talk you into a little massage?"
"Is it your hip again?"
"Yeah, the doctor told me that it's because my leg is bowed. I've lost almost an inch and a half on that side."
"Really? I thought that you looked a little lopsided. Roll over and I'll see what I can do."
All too soon, it was time to get dressed and check out. The boys and their grandparents were waiting downstairs when Steve and Danny arrived for breakfast. The boys had the chef make waffles for them while the others had made-to-order omelets.
The remainder of the day was very low key. Steve went for a run and a swim after breakfast was sufficiently digested. Danny requested lasagna for dinner and was content to sit by the beach and watch his family play in the surf. After a while, Jesse came up and sat on his lap. He didn't say anything but Danny suspected that Jesse was apprehensive about losing another parent. Danny remembered how Steve helped Grace through a deployment by giving her some responsibility.
"Jesse, I'm glad you and I have a chance to talk. You know how your dad and Jack get when they're hyper. I don't know if Nana and Poppa can deal with them and worry about me too. Do you think that you can keep an eye on them and help them out if they get too bad?"
Jesse seemed to consider the request. Just as Danny thought that maybe Jesse had dozed off, he saw Jesse nod his head. "Daddy told Jack and me that he was going to stay at the hospital with you to make sure that you're okay. Can we sleep in your bed while you're gone?"
"I think that can be arranged. That should help Jack. What can we do for Daddy?"
"When you come home and he's here, I can sit with him and pat his back. It always makes me feel better when you and Daddy do that for me. And I can make sure that he eats right. Nana can help me with that. She likes to feed us. And Uncle Chin can help me too. Aunt Kono says he's the Zen master. That means that he's always chilled out."
"It sounds like you have a plan. Don't forget that Nana and Poppa will bring you and Jack to visit me when you get out of school, and I'll be home on Thursday. I'll be on sick leave for a couple of months and on restricted duty for a few weeks after that so we'll have a lot of time to catch up on our reading. I love you Jesse."
"I love you too Danno."
Father and son were content to sit there until hunger drove the others from the water. Steve grilled fish and veggies for their evening meal. It was a struggle but Steve and Danny finally got the boys down for the night. They had a cup of tea with Mom and Dad before going upstairs. Steve and Danny made love before turning out the lights. They had an early wakeup call for the hospital in the morning. Steve spooned behind Danny for a change. It was quiet in the McGarrett-Williams home and the beat of Danny's heart finally lulled Steve to sleep.