This was originally supposed to be a little one-shot but somehow the story got a little out of hand. Anyway, here's the final chapter, I hope you like it.
Thank you so much for sticking around until the end and for all your amazing reviews, I really appreciate them!

Four weeks later

Slowly steering his Camaro along the neat roads of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Danny wasn't really surprised to see Steve's dark blue truck already parked in the shadow of a large tree near his father's grave.

Steve had finally been released from the hospital two days ago; he was still weak and pale and even if only an angry red scar on the right side of his chest reminded of the terrible incident nearly a month ago he was still supposed to rest a lot and not overdo it. Of course he was also off-duty for the unforeseeable future and the fact that he wasn't allowed to do all the things he was used to doing almost drove the usually so agile man crazy.

Danny had moved in to Steve's house the moment his friend had been released, making sure that the other man stuck by the rules his doctor had set up for him – no swimming, no running, no bending down, no heavy lifting, nothing that would endanger the healing of his injured lung and chest. Danny could only imagine how hard it must be for his athletic partner to be limited to short walks on the beach and he knew for sure that sooner or later Steve would try something stupid and possibly harmful to his health.

But he certainly hadn't imagined that he would come home from work to find Steve's house deserted, not even 48 hours after he had picked up his friend from the hospital. After suffering a near heart attack and thoroughly scanning the ocean from the safety of Steve's private beach for any sign of his stray partner, Danny had finally realized that Steve's Silverado was also missing. Putting two and two together he had a fairly good idea of where his partner might have gone and without further hesitation Danny had climbed back into his car and had driven the short distance to the cemetery.

Parking the black Camaro right behind Steve's much larger truck, Danny killed the engine and turned his body to the right, circling his right arm around the headrest of the passenger's seat as he looked out the window, worriedly watching his friend for a moment from afar.

Steve was standing right in front of his father's grave, slightly hunched over, and even from the distance Danny could see that his shoulders were slightly shaking; he didn't have to see Steve's face to know that the man was probably crying.

Pensively playing with his car keys Danny wasn't really sure if he had the right to disturb that very private moment of raw grief but deep inside he felt a slight push, the feeling very similar to the one he had had right before Steve had been shot. He hadn't experienced any more supernatural sensations since that day in the hospital when Steve had woken up and to be honest, he wasn't really mad about it. Danny still wasn't sure what he had really felt or if his dream had been real, and he had never told Steve or anyone else about any of this.

Watching how Steve laboriously crouched down and bent forward to wipe the leaves and dirt from his father's headstone, Danny finally made his decision. He just couldn't stand to see Steve suffer anymore so he heaved a little sigh to prepare himself for the emotional turmoil that was probably lying ahead of him and got out of the car, stowing his keys away in his pocket as he slowly walked towards his friend.

"Thought I'd find you here," Danny said softly when he stepped to his partner's side, not commenting on the slight jolt that ran through Steve's body; his partner must be really out of it if he hadn't even noticed that someone was approaching him and usually Danny would have teased the other man about it. But contrary to popular belief he knew when to hold his tongue and now was definitely not the time to make fun of his friend. "Mind if I join you?"

He still couldn't see Steve's face because the dark-haired man had his head bent down, the fingertips of his left hand gently tracing the engraved letters of the word 'FATHER' on the headstone and Danny had to blink away a blur of tears when he watched the tender gesture.

There was a long moment of silence and Danny almost thought that Steve hadn't heard his words but then his partner slightly shook his head and took a shaky breath, brusquely running his right hand across his face. Trying to get up, Steve grimaced in pain when a sharp pang flashed in his chest and he involuntarily breathed out a hoarse moan as he pressed his left hand against his recently healed wound.

"You know, that's exactly why you're supposed to rest," Danny said, the tone of his voice an interesting mixture of exasperation and concern. He immediately grabbed Steve's elbow and gently helped him stand up, letting his hand rest on Steve's arm until he was sure that the taller man was steady on his feet. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, raising his eyebrows when he heard Steve's unexpectedly honest answer.

"I have been better," Steve admitted quietly, much to Danny's surprise, smiling slightly when he noticed his friend's reaction. "Wow, now I know what you mean when you say I have aneurysm face," he joked but the humor in his voice betrayed the sadness that glistened in his eyes.

"Very witty, Steven, using my own lines against me," Danny retorted with an unimpressed little grin, frowning worriedly when he noticed that Steve was still absently rubbing his hand across his chest. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

"I'm good. It just hurt a little bit when I bent forward," McGarrett replied, dropping his left hand when he realized what he was doing. "Guess I should have listened to the doc," he said sheepishly with a little shrug of his shoulders.

"It just hurt a little bit?" Danny repeated, incredulously shaking his head. He could still see the lines of pain on his partner's forehead and the way the taller man tried to keep his upper body stiff told him clearly that the inconsiderate movement had hurt more than just a little bit. "Judging by the fact that you're as white as your t-shirt and that you weren't able to stand up on your own, I'd rather say it hurt like hell..." Danny's voice trailed off when Steve interrupted him mid-sentence and he huffed out an annoyed little sigh about Steve's words.

"I was able to stand up on my own," the dark-haired man contradicted in a slightly offended murmur. "I just wanted to stay down a little longer."

"Yeah, right," Danny snorted, dismissing the subject with a wave of his hands. "If you just believe it yourself, maybe it'll come true."

Both men fell silent and after a moment they slowly turned around to look down at John McGarrett's grave, folding their arms in front of their chests in an exactly mirrored movement. They stood so close to each other that their elbows were almost touching, each of them lost in their own train of thoughts.

"So, are you?" Danny finally asked hoarsely after a few minutes of comfortable silence, quietly clearing his throat. "Alright," he clarified when he felt Steve's confused gaze rest on him.

"How many times can you actually ask the same question?" Steve asked back, his voice laced with irritation. "I told you already that it didn't hurt that much."

Danny smiled slightly, knowing without having to look that now his friend was the one who showed his aneurysm face. "That's good to hear, Steven," he said, taking a deep breath before he turned to the right. "But what I really meant is," he explained, gesturing toward the headstone as he locked eyes with his partner, "are you alright?"

Pressing his lips together in a thin line when he finally got the meaning of Danny's question, Steve looked down at the smaller man for a long time before he hesitantly nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he said slowly, obviously contemplating his next words. "I thought… when I… I thought I saw…" he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper and he swallowed forcefully as his gaze briefly flickered to his father's name on the headstone. "Never mind," he cut himself off after a moment of silent brooding, blushing slightly as he sharply shook his head. "It's nothing, I'm good."

Sensing that there was more behind Steve's muttering than the other man wanted to let him know, Danny squared his shoulders and decided that this time he wouldn't let Steve shut off his feelings so easily. "You asked for your Dad when you woke up in the hospital," he said almost casually, narrowing his eyes when he saw the surprised expression on Steve's face. "You don't remember that?"

"No," McGarrett replied; his breathing unconsciously quickening as he tried to think back to that day but all he could remember was the pain in his chest and a blinding flash of light in an ocean of darkness.

"You said you thought he was there with you," Danny gently repeated the words Steve had said all those weeks ago in that hospital room. "You actually scared me a little bit that day," he went on without giving Steve the chance to interrupt him again. Shoving his hands deeply into the pockets of his pants Danny slightly hunched his shoulders, not sure how exactly he should tell Steve about what had happened. "I dreamt of your Dad, you know?" he finally explained, feeling that the direct approach actually might be the best. "A few nights after you were shot, in the hospital…" Danny's voice was uncharacteristically soft and he fought back a nervous little giggle before he licked his lips and continued his little speech. "He… he told me I should take care of you."

Sheepishly scratching his scalp he looked up at Steve who stared silently back at him, a strange glimmer in his wide open eyes. "That sounds a little crazy, doesn't it?" Danny tried to backpedal when his partner still didn't say a word, but then the confusion on Steve's face slowly disappeared, making room for an expression of quiet acceptance.

"No," the taller man said, hesitantly shaking his head. He had begun to remember a little more and the feeling that his father had been at his side after he had been shot was suddenly so strong that he just couldn't deny it. "No, it doesn't."

"I wish I'd known him," Danny said quietly after another moment of silence; briefly placing his hand on Steve's forearm, he flashed his friend a sad little smile. "I'm really sorry."

Slightly nodding, Steve quickly rubbed his hands across his face before he looked at Danny, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears as he tried to return the smile. "I think he would have liked you," he replied, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath that made him wince in pain when the movement pulled at his recently healed wound.

"Alright superman, that's it," Danny decided at that very moment, grabbing Steve's arm and gently pushing him towards their cars. "I think you've had enough for today. Let's go home."

"Just a moment, okay?" Steve knew that Danny was right, maybe he had really overtaxed himself a little bit, but there was something he had to do before he could go home.

"Okay," Danny agreed after he had studied the expression on Steve's face for a long moment, taking a few step backwards to give his friend some privacy. He watched how the dark-haired man bent his head and closed his eyes for a moment before he finally started to smile.

"Happy belated birthday, Dad," Steve whispered quietly, heaving a little sigh before he turned around and joined his partner.

Simultaneously looking back, the two friends threw a last glance at John McGarrett's grave, watching how the warm, orange light of the early evening sun reflected in the engraved letters.

JOHN McGARRETT

LT. NAVY

VIETNAM

DET. HPD

BELOVED HUSBAND AND FATHER

MARCH 15, 1942 – SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

They briefly looked at each other, slightly smiling in mutual understanding before they slowly walked across the neatly trimmed lawn. Cocking his head to the right, Danny narrowed his eyes when he suddenly clearly heard a voice behind them, the whispered "I love you, son" floating through the air and following them all the way back to their cars. Maybe he had only imagined it but when Danny saw the wistful smile that played around Steve's lips and the brusquely wiped away tear that rolled down his cheek, he was pretty sure that Steve had heard it too.

THE END

Thank you so much for coming with me on this little journey, I hope you enjoyed it.
See you around!

Oh, and by the way... did anyone notice that I actually posted the first chapter in "real time"? No? I thought so *sigh* I intentionally waited until March 15th to post the story :-)