Steve slowly blinked his eyes open and tried to perceive anything through the complete darkness that surrounded him like a thick veil. Slowly turning around his own axis, his hands outstretched in front of him, he tried to find a light switch, a door, a wall, anything that would help him to define his current position even if he somehow knew that he wouldn't find what he was looking for.
He had no idea where he was or how he had come here, the last thing he remembered was a loud bang followed by an agonizing pain that had made it almost impossible to breathe. But now he was kind of floating in the darkness; he knew he was standing upright, but he didn't really feel his body. He didn't hear himself breathing, he didn't feel his heart beating against his ribs, he didn't feel any more pain. Carefully raising his hands to examine his chest, Steve frowned in confusion when he felt no blood, no injury, the fabric of his t-shirt soft and clean underneath his fingertips.
He tried to remember what had happened, the frown on his forehead deepening. He knew that Danny had been there by his side, talking to him, begging him to stay with him but now he also remembered that there had been someone else, another voice in the back of his mind that had pulled him away from his partner.
"Dad?" Steve timidly asked into the darkness, but his own voice faded away unheard and after a moment of silent contemplation he slightly shrugged his shoulders and just started to walk.
Figuring that one direction was as good as any other Steve cautiously set one foot in front of the other, slowly at first but faster and faster with every passing moment until he was running at full speed. He could feel his feet hitting the ground, not really surprised that absolutely no sound reached his ears. It should have been weird but somehow Steve knew that everything was like it was supposed to be.
He was running for what seemed like an eternity, never getting out of breath or becoming tired but finally he slowed down when the darkness seemed to draw back bit by bit. The tiny bit of light was apparently coming through some kind of door very far away and the nearer Steve got, the more he could see of his surroundings until he finally recognized that he was walking through an endless corridor without windows or doors, the walls dark and smooth without the slightest unevenness, nothing his eyes were able to rest on.
Never looking back, Steve squinted at the illuminated door, blinking when he saw a figure stepping into the light. The man had turned his back on him so that he couldn't see his face but his dark silhouette was clearly visible against the lighter background and Steve involuntarily heaved a moan; he would recognize that stature always and everywhere and not even in his wildest dreams had he hoped to meet the man in person again.
"Dad?" he asked hesitantly as he stopped dead in his tracks, his voice eerily floating across the dimly lit corridor. "Is… is that you?"
He stood there, rooted to the spot, nervously waiting for an answer. His whole being ached to go on, touch the other man, see his face, but for some reason he didn't dare to step into the bright white light so he just stayed in the shadows and waited.
The breath caught in his throat when the figure finally turned around and he stared directly into his father's blue eyes. His old man was clad in his police uniform, just like Steve remembered him from his childhood and he looked a lot younger than the last time Steve had seen him.
For a moment the two men just stared at each other in silence until Steve shakily inhaled a breath of air and slightly shook his head. "I don't understand," he said, almost invisibly raising his hands as he looked around. "Where are we? What am I doing here?"
"Always asking so many questions, just like when you were a little boy," John McGarrett replied, a wistful little smile playing around his lips as he proudly watched his son. "You were always so full of curiosity; it was such a joy to watch you grow."
John heaved a sad little sigh and slightly stepped backwards into the doorframe of light. "But you're not meant to be here, Steve," he said sincerely, his light blue eyes boring into Steve's darker ones. "Not yet. You have to go back."
"Back?" Steve asked, briefly looking over his shoulder into the dark corridor before he forcefully shook his head. "No," he said, hesitantly taking a step forward to follow his father. "I want to stay here… with you…" he begged and for a moment his voice sounded like that of a frightened child.
"I heard your voice," Steve added after another long moment of silence, trying to convince his father to let him stay. Deep inside he knew that he didn't belong here but he just longed for another moment of intimacy with the man he would probably never see again. "You called me."
"I did what I could to protect you," John explained softly, the smile disappearing from his face when he listened to something behind him that only he could hear. "Now it's up to you to find your way back," he urged, defensively raising his hands when Steve stepped a little closer. "You have to go now."
"But I don't want to go," Steve said hoarsely, still not ready to accept his father's decision. He was now standing directly in front of the older man, only an arm's length away but still outside the circle of bright white light. "I need you, Dad," he whispered, feeling all the loneliness and bitterness from the last twenty years crashing down on him; he had allowed his father to send him away all those years ago but he certainly wouldn't give in so easily this time.
"No, you don't need me anymore," John objected with a shake of his head, smiling when he watched his son for the last time. "You now have other people who care for you and who look out for you. You have to go back to them."
Without giving Steve the chance to reply, he took a step forward out of the light and placed his hand on the younger man's chest, directly where the bullet had hit him. A blinding flash of light erupted from John's hand and encircled the two men and Steve groaned in agony when the pain from the gunshot wound came back with a vengeance, almost driving him to his knees. He could feel the blood pouring out of the wound and soaking his t-shirt and suddenly he could hear his gasping breathing and could feel the strained, painful beating of his heart.
"Goodbye, son," was the last thing Steve heard before everything around him became black again and then he felt how his body was violently yanked backwards through the endless corridor into the darkness.
Leaning forward in his chair, Danny placed his elbows on his knees and hid his face behind his hands. He had barely left his place at Steve's bedside, sitting vigil ever since his partner had been allowed visitors in his cold, clean ICU cubicle.
He didn't know how much time had passed since the incident that had rocked his world to the very core; hours at least but more likely days or even a whole week. One moment everything had been alright and the next thing he knew was that his partner had been slowly dying right in front of him, bleeding out right underneath his fingers.
Tightly squeezing his eyes shut, Danny tried to chase away the gruelling images of that day but he could still feel Steve's blood sticking to his hands and he could still see the soft, content smile on his friend's lips that had scared him more than he cared to admit; he just couldn't shake the feeling that Steve had known that he was dying and that he had accepted that outcome without even fighting it.
Shivering when he remembered the doctor's words Danny involuntarily moaned in worry, his head jerking upwards to throw a look at his partner, making sure that Steve was still alive and breathing. Because the dark-haired man had indeed died, his heart had stopped on the operating table for the amount of a good two minutes until the surgeons had finally been able to bring him back.
Puffing out a shaky breath, Danny rubbed his red-rimmed eyes and nervously got up from his chair. He was beyond tired but he just couldn't sit still and his mind jumped from one thought to the next, unable to dwell on anything longer than a few seconds. He knew that HPD had arrested the shooter but he just couldn't remember what else Chin had told him about the man that had nearly killed their boss. And it didn't really matter, the only thing that counted right now was that Steve was still alive and, according to the doctor, that he would make a full recovery. He had been insanely lucky; if he hadn't turned around at the last possible moment, the bullet would probably have done a lot more damage but the unexpected movement had most likely saved Steve's life.
Pacing in front of his friend's bed for what seemed like an eternity, Danny watched the constant up and down of Steve's chest, impatiently waiting for the other man to finally wake up. Hours passed without anything happening except for the regular visits of nurses and doctors who tried to reassure Danny that everything was alright but he knew that he wouldn't be able to calm down until Steve opened his eyes and talked to him again.
Exhaustedly slumping down into the uncomfortable chair next to Steve's bed when the day slowly turned into night, Danny tightly crossed his arms in front of his chest and stretched his legs. His gaze was fixed on his partner's face and he didn't intend to even blink until Steve was finally ready to wake up but against his own will and against his prediction that he wouldn't be able to relax, his eyelids began to flutter and his chin slowly dropped to his chest. Only a moment later Danny was fast asleep, the soft sound of his snoring completely in sync with Steve's breathing.
Self-consciously flattening his tie against his chest, Danny tried to keep his head high as he quickly walked down the long corridors of the HPD building. He had just arrived on the island one week earlier and this was only his second day as a detective of the Honolulu police department. He was still trying to get accustomed to Hawaii, to the different way of living, to the people, but to be honest with himself, if it wasn't for his daughter, he would probably never have set a single foot on the pineapple infested hell hole.
Completely ignoring the disparaging looks of his new colleagues when he entered the large office he only greeted them with a short nod before he made a beeline for his desk. He knew that they didn't want to have him here, just as much as he didn't want to be here. He was a foreigner, a 'Haole' as they used to call him; Danny didn't know exactly what the word meant but from the tone of their voices he knew that it definitely wasn't a term of endearment.
Sighing silently he sat down at his desk and without another look at the other officers he opened one of the files that waited for him to get finished. He pretended to read but the letters blurred in front of his eyes when his mind deviated from the witness report and he thought about his current situation.
Never before in his life had he felt so lonely; he had willingly followed Grace to the farthermost place he could imagine and apart from his daughter, his ex-wife and her new husband he didn't know a single soul on the island. Danny knew he had a ready tongue and usually he didn't have problems to establish new contacts but not so on Hawaii. Maybe the natives felt that he didn't want to be here, that he didn't want to fit in and that was why they didn't want to talk to him.
Danny sighed again, bending down deeper over his file when he felt the eyes of his colleagues resting on him. Of course not everyone around him was hostile, some of them just treated him with complete indifference while some others seemed to be really nice, but deep down he had the nagging feeling that everyone thought he didn't belong here. He thought about Duke Lukela, the Hawaiian police sergeant who had showed him around on his first day, or about Meka Hanamoa, his new partner; both men had been genuinely friendly and Meka had even invited him home to meet his wife and his little son but Danny still had the feeling that it would be really tough for him to make new friends.
A shadow suddenly fell on the half-filled page of his report and when Danny raised his head he saw an older officer standing in front of his desk, looking down at him with a piercing gaze out of light blue eyes.
"Yes?" Danny said hesitantly, pushing his chair back as he slowly stood up and walked around his desk. His gaze flickered to the name that was embroidered in yellow letters on the right side of the man's uniform – J. McGarrett. "What can I do for you?" Danny asked politely; he had absolutely no idea who the man was or what he could possibly want from him.
"Williams, right?" McGarrett replied, curiously watching the younger man for a long moment before he stretched out his right hand and waited for Danny to grab it.
Firmly shaking hands the two men looked silently at each other until John slapped his left hand on Danny's right shoulder. "Take care of my son for me, would you?" he said solemnly, his voice laced with a hint of sadness that Danny couldn't really place. "He needs you."
Waking up gradually, Danny breathed deeply in and out a few times, his forehead wrinkling in confusion while his mind was still caught in the strange dream he had just awakened from. Hesitantly blinking his eyes open he jerked to full awareness when he noticed that he still felt a touch on his right shoulder, a gentle squeezing of fingers before the sensation was suddenly gone.
Jumping up from his chair Danny wildly looked around, his heart racing in his chest as he scanned the small room with wide eyes but except for his injured partner in the bed he was completely alone. "What the hell," he murmured, brusquely scrubbing his hands across his face. As far as he remembered he had never met Steve's father in person but the dream had felt so real that he suddenly wasn't so sure anymore what was real and what not.
The weak groan behind him was almost inaudible but Danny whirled around in an instant and with two large strides he was at his partner's side. Smiling in relief when he saw that Steve's eyes were open he cautiously curled one hand around Steve's forearm while he pressed the call button with his other hand.
"Hey," Danny said softly, trying to get Steve's attention but the other man only locked eyes with him for the amount of a heartbeat before his gaze unsteadily flickered across the room, just as if he was looking for someone or something. "Hey, Steve, can you hear me?" Danny asked slightly concerned about the display of bemusement, emphasizing his words by gently squeezing Steve's arm.
"Danny?" Steve asked hoarsely, drawing in a deep shuddering breath that made the monitors above his head blink frantically, before he finally looked at the blond man. Surprise and confusion were clearly visible on his pale, haggard face and from the slightly disappointed look in his eyes Danny was sure that he had been hoping to see someone else.
"Yeah, it's me babe," Danny confirmed with a slight smile and very slowly the confusion on Steve's face morphed into an expression of recognition and he nodded weakly.
"Okay," Steve breathed out, sluggishly blinking his eyes as he licked his dry lips and swallowed laboriously. "Thought my Dad was here…" he murmured softly, his voice trailing off as his eyelids closed again in exhaustion and he slipped back into oblivion.
A shiver ran down Danny's spine when he heard Steve's words and for a moment he stared speechlessly at his friend, wincing in surprise when the door suddenly opened and a nurse rushed into the room. "He's just woken up," Danny explained when the young woman looked quizzically at him, wearily waving his hand through the air as he stepped back from the bed to give her a little space to check on her patient.
Steve's last words still ringing in his ears, Danny leaned heavily against the wall, not sure if his legs were able to keep him upright any longer. Maybe his partner was just confused, the physical trauma he had endured and all the medication messing with his head? But what if he had really seen his Dad? What if Danny's dream hadn't been a dream?
Staring wide-eyed into the room without really seeing anything, Danny tightly hugged himself, tucking his hands in his armpits to stop them from trembling. He knew for sure that he hadn't imagined the sensation of someone touching his shoulder and he could still hear John McGarrett talking to him in his dream.
Waiting impatiently until the nurse had finished her check and had reassured him that everything looked good and Steve just needed more time to recover, Danny settled back down at his partner's side and once again placed his hand on Steve's forearm.
"Everything's alright," he said soothingly when the dark-haired man started to quietly moan in his sleep, his fingers nervously twitching on the white sheets and his face contorting with discomfort. It took a moment of gentle talking before Steve relaxed again and Danny sighed silently when he watched how the lines of pain on Steve's forehead slowly smoothened.
Slightly shifting his weight in the chair to find a more comfortable position Danny leaned his elbow on the edge of the bed, his hand still warm and heavy on Steve's arm. He had never intended to leave his friend anyway but the more he mulled over his dream the more his resolution to look after Steve increased.
"I'll take care of him, I promise," Danny quietly whispered into the dimly lit room. He didn't turn around but he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was standing behind him, listening to his words and watching over them.
(tbc)