Okay, I promise I'm finished with the cliffies now - and apologies for scaring the heebies out of you for two chapters running. You'll be glad to hear that both Steve and Danny are fine - and Steve is about to discover one of Danny's secret skills. I know a lot has been said about how Danny talks with his hands, and I wanted to show that in a slightly different way.

I hope you enjoy this latest chapter, and thank you for all your kind reviews. They have all been much appreciated!

Lessons Learned - Chapter Four

When Hope Survives

Towering height, reputation, and a glare that could peel paint off walls definitely had its advantages. Steve had used every one of those advantages to 'persuade' the fire chief that, yes, he was aware of the risks. Yes, he knew he was crazy. Yes, he was disobeying advice. Yes, he knew the fire that had been mercifully extinguished could still flare up again, at any time.

But there wasn't a force on this planet that was going to stop him from crawling into that bus.

"My partner's in there," he'd growled, in the tone that not even Danny dared to argue with. The fire chief had tried, of course, but… well, it had been a short, emphatically one sided contest.

"I'm going in."

That was that. Argument over. Left with no choice in the matter, the chief just watched him go. He'd heard that Steve McGarrett, ex Navy SEAL and now head of 5-0, was certifiably insane. Now he knew why.

So why the hell was he smiling, like the proudest father, as six foot two of scowling muscle strode past him? The lad deserved his reputation, for sure. Just as he deserved the respect from one hero to another.

That hero was more nervous than he looked, though, as he peered through smashed windows into hellishly tangled metal. Damn, this was bad. Really bad. Seats, restraints and piles of luggage lay in heaps ahead of him.

More to the point that had his heart hammering against his chest, where the hell was Danny?

Right on cue, a tousled blond head popped up from what had once been a row of metal seats – the eyes in a grease-smudged face widening in surprise, then brightening with relief.

"Hey, SuperSEAL! What kept you?"

Before Steve could retaliate, or pull any kind of face back at him, Danny waved to the team behind him.

"We're gonna need cutters here, guys. I've got a little girl here, she's pinned pretty badly."

And then he was gone again, returning to the task that would always be his topmost priority. Any case that involved a child, especially one that was threatened or hurt, kicked Danny's fatherhood instincts into hyperdrive. He had the soothing 'everything's gonna be okay now' voice down to a fine art, and – okay, so why couldn't Steve hear it?

Panicking now that Danny was hurt, and was too damn stubborn to admit it 'Repeat after me, Danno. Pot. Kettle. Black', Steve scrambled over the last few seats to reach him - his worry as to why he couldn't hear his friend changing to startled surprise when he saw him, and realized why.

For as along as he'd known him, Danny had always talked with his hands. But never like this.

Instead of the extravagant gestures that he normally used to make his point, every movement here was measured. Precise. Falling into a pattern of lifts, curves and fingertaps.

He was also face to face with a young girl, around Grace's age, who followed every one of them – the pain and fear that she had to be feeling soothed away by what those gestures represented.

Steve understood them too now, humbled by their significance as he knelt at Danny's side.

'My God, she's – she's deaf! And Danny's signing to her.'

Not just signing, but smiling too, using both his voice and his hands to make the introductions.

\Megan, this is Steve, my partner. He's gonna help me get you out of here, okay?/

Huge brown eyes stared up at him, and Steve felt his heart turn to jelly by the trust he saw within them. She was beautiful, just like Gracie, and - okay, why the hell was Danny grinning like that? Whatever Megan had just signed to him had reduced his partner to fits of helpless laughter, and – yeah, Steve dryly reflected, he kinda knew where this private joke between them was heading.

\Yeah, baby, I know he's big and scary. But he's still pretty nice. My daughter likes him too/

That last part was high praise indeed, especially to a frightened and impressionable child. She already had one new hero in her life. Now she had another with the same gently kind eyes.

"That's right, honey, we're gonna get you out of here real soon," Steve assured her – turning away to point at the rescue team that had joined them, only to turn immediately back again. That jerking tug on his pants leg demanded attention – and it was too close to the ground to be Danny's.

But then as Danny explained, in dual time translation, he'd committed an all too common mistake when faced with a person who couldn't hear him.

\I can't read what you're saying if I can't see your face/

Mortified by his own ignorance, Steve threw a helpless glance towards his gently smiling partner – watching Danny's right hand trace a circle over his heart while he mouthed its hearing equivalent.

\Sorry/

Copying his example, if rather more awkwardly, Steve watched anxiously for Megan's reaction. A bright-eyed smile said 'thank you' in every language, whether you could understand it or not.

Danny looked pretty impressed too – but that was nothing against the pride that Steve now felt for him. That pride was almost bursting out of his face now as he watched Danny turn back to Megan – signing everything that the rescue team were going to do to rescue her so that she knew what was happening, and wouldn't be scared by it.

When this was all over, he'd tell him that. He'd give his partner the praise that was long overdue. But for now he squeezed Danny's shoulder, returning a startled smile with a grin that said it all.

'Way to go, Danno.'