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.
Season 2 started a week after Season One, according to an interview with Alex O'Loughlin. Somehow we're past Halloween now and I've got time to fill in before then. This chapter takes place sometime between Episodes 6 and 7.
Steve's injuries from the Liddell match healed quickly. Things were a little strained with Danny for a few days. Grace's presence in the household helped. Neither man wanted Grace to be aware of their disagreement, and it was easier to actually forgive the other than to pretend everything was okay. They knew that Grace was very perceptive to the mood of the household. The tension at the Edwards' household had caused her a lot of worry, and neither man wanted that for her again. Steve and Danny agreed to put the matter behind them.
Then Steve received a registered letter from the Navy. He was afraid to open it. He was in the reserves and available to be activated if necessary. Ordinarily he would owe the Navy one weekend a month and two weeks sometime during the year. Because the Navy considered Hawaii such a strategic position, Steve had been granted special circumstances. He often visited the base and helped with SEAL training. He was trained on base, and sometimes he received intel on persons of interest who might prove dangerous to the island. He copied the Navy on reports that might prove helpful to Navy Intelligence. The mutual benefit to the state of Hawaii and the Navy meant that Steve didn't have to give up a weekend every month. He usually conducted his monthly duties during 5-0 slack times, and his pay with 5-0 was reduced by the amount of his Navy check.
The Navy had appreciated his handling of the SEAL who took the U.S. Missouri hostage last year. Steve's mid-air rescue of an unconscious SEAL was becoming lore and not just locally; it was also being told in the halls of the Naval Academy in Annapolis. There was a time when the Navy was Steve's only home. Now his home was back on the island, and his family was Danny and Grace.
"What do you have there, babe?" Danny walked into Steve's office and sat on the couch.
"It's a registered letter." Steve really didn't want to open it in front of Danny. He knew that he would need time to process the bad news (because good news seldom comes by registered mail).
"Yes, I can see it's a registered letter. Who would send a registered letter to you here?" Danny scooted down on the couch to get a better look at the return address. "To be more specific, why would you get a registered letter from the U. S. Navy? Did you forget to return a boat or something?"
Damn, that's the pitfall of being involved with a detective. He snooped. "I don't know Danny. I'm sure it's nothing important. I'll look at it later." Steve started to put the letter in his desk.
"Whoa there. It must be important if it's coming by registered mail. You might as well open it now. I'm not going anywhere until you do." Danny perched on the side of the desk; now he reached over to put his hand on Steve's arm. "Babe, whatever it is, we'll handle together."
Steve picked up his letter opener and slit the top of the envelope. He finally drew the letter out and unfolded it. He quickly skimmed the contents and then passed the paper to Danny.
"This says you need to report to base for your two weeks active duty on August 15th. You will be deployed to your training location from there." Danny raised his eyebrows in question. "It doesn't say where you'll be going."
"I noticed that Danny. That's not unusual; the Navy is pretty secretive about the movement of key personnel. It's the same way about moving the crews of the submarines. A missile could take out a whole crew; it would leave a sub in port until another crew could be assembled. The Navy has spent millions training personnel. The loss of a team could take years to recover. I can ask around and see if I can get any more information. I think it will be okay Danny. I'm not being deployed, which was my first thought." Steve sat back in his chair and looked at Danny.
Danny was absorbing the information from Steve. He just hated this. He knew that Steve still had commitments to the Navy. "Any chance you'll stay on the island and can come home at night?" Danny knew he was being a baby about the whole thing, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to sleep at night without Steve. He was also afraid that Steve would…what? That Steve would get back with his SEAL buddies and decide that he only liked women again? That Steve might decide that he liked one of his fellow SEALs better? He was also afraid that in spite of the repeal of the DADT policy, Steve would be ostracized if his teammates found out that Steve was living with another man.
Steve saw a range of emotions in Danny's eyes. "This is why I wanted to wait until we got home. I really want to hug you and tell you it will be okay. I'll be away for a couple of weeks, and then I'll come home and resume my life here with you and Grace. I'll miss you and Grace like crazy. I'm not sure if I can sleep without you, without Grace's goodnight hugs and kisses. We'll get through it. You will still have Grace here for part of the time. And I'll get through it because I'll know my family is waiting for me here. That's a lot more than I ever had before. I need to call the governor. You'll be in charge in my absence."
When Steve picked up the phone, Danny knew he needed to get back to work. The 15th was only five days away. They would pick Grace up on Friday, and then Steve would leave on Monday. He would have a couple of nights alone with Steve before Friday. He would need to make the most of them.
The governor had already been informed. Apparently, he had contacts and had been sent a courtesy copy of the same letter Steve had received. He was satisfied that Danny and the rest of the team could handle whatever came up with 5-0. Initially he had his doubts about the team abiding by his rules; he was very pleased with 5-0's performance. Although McGarrett occasionally skirted policy, Governor Denning could see when it was necessary. He knew that other states were looking into starting their own elite task forces; he doubted they would be as effective without McGarrett and his people.
Steve and Danny were a little late getting home that evening. Steve had been fighting a headache since reading the letter. Danny could tell that Steve was in some pain: he always knew. As soon as they walked in the front door, Danny headed straight for the kitchen. He came back with two Aleve and a bottle of water. "Take them and go for a swim. I know that you already had a swim this morning. You probably want to go again."
Danny stepped in for a hug after Steve swallowed the pills. Danny reached up to massage the back of Steve's neck. The muscles there were coiled tightly. Steve at first resisted and finally relaxed into Danny ministrations.
"I don't want to go out for a swim now. Can we go upstairs? I need to be with you. I just need to hold you for a while." Steve's voice was muffled against Danny's shoulder.
The two men climbed the stairs and went to their bedroom. Without speaking, they pulled the comforter and sheet down, stripped, and moved to the center of the bed.
It was still summer and they were warm from the short trip from the car. They soon cooled with the air conditioning. Danny always ran hot, so Steve kept the inside temp cool. Steve loved cuddling up with Danny, especially after a grueling day.
Steve was curled around Danny now. Their heartbeats were synchronized, their respiration keeping pace. "I knew it was just a matter of time before I would be called away. I've been fortunate that it went this long."
"Are you going to catch shit about us, you and me?" Danny decided this was the best time to air out all his questions.
"I shouldn't. The island is small enough and I go on base regularly. My C.O. there knows. There are still pockets of intolerance, but the feedback I've gotten is that the Navy is happy that they don't have to lose any more good men because of a stupid regulation.
"What about your SEAL team?"
"I've written or talked to some of the men from my last team. They know about us and are okay with it. I might be assigned with another team for training. I'll just have to wait and see.
Danny thought for a minute and asked, "I know this is a stupid question, but will you be in any danger"?
Steve decided Danny deserved absolute honesty. "Training exercises are as realistic as we can get. The ammo isn't live, but some of the drills might get a little hairy. If the exercise is climbing a wall, then it's real world. It's nothing I haven't done lots of times before. I might come home with a few aches and bruises. Will you kiss them and make them better?" Thanks to Danny, Steve's headache was gone. He wanted to play.
"Will I kiss them and make them better? Well, I don't know. Where do you think you might get these boo-boos?" Danny sensed a change in mood and approved. He really liked to play.
Steve pointed to his lips; Danny touched his lips to the spot. Steve pointed to his jaw; Danny brushed his lips over Steve's jaw. Steve pointed to his shoulder, his left nipple, his belly button. Each time Danny kissed the spot, now sweeping his tongue for good measure. When Steve pointed to a spot further south, Danny started laughing.
"Danny, it's not nice to laugh at that part of my anatomy. I could develop performance issues." Steve kept a straight face but knew that Danny playing along with him now.
"Steven, if you come home with that part of you broken, I may have to remove it for you. It's mine, mine, mine. You will not let the other little SEALs play with my stuff." Danny was kidding, but he was also relieved to get that out in the open.
Steve reached down to stroke Danny now. "Then that makes yours mine, mine, mine too. There's no one but you Danno. There will never been another man, and you've ruined me for women."
They were kissing now. "I have, have I? The same goes for me. There is only you now." It would not be a night for sweet and tender, nor would it be a night for slow and easy. It was a little rough; both would have bruises in the morning. Each sought dominance the other wouldn't give. Finally, Danny won the battle, but both won the war. They were breathless when it was over, and a fine sheen of sweat coated both bodies.
"Danny, how could you think that anyone else could give me what we have together? It's not just what happens in this bed, although I have to give you a 10 on your performance tonight. I'm sure even that Russian judge would agree with me." Steve and Danny laughed over their private joke. Danny had rated their first kiss a 7 many weeks ago; he had since upped the score.
"It's everything Danny. It's you giving me medicine for my headache. It's you fixing the ice bath after my match with Liddell. It's you having supper ready for me when I work late."
"It's everything for me too Steve. It's you massaging my leg when my knee hurts. It's you playing safari with Grace on a Sunday afternoon when I'm sick. It's you renting a cabin so my kid can have the power of the universe. Even when Stan Edwards had buckets of money, he couldn't make her the Princess of Power."
"Yeah, we have it pretty good here, don't we? How about we soak for a while and grab some dinner? I ache everywhere right now, but in a very manly way." Steve laughed, wanting to lighten the mood.
And that's exactly what they did. They soaked in the big tub until the water cooled. Steve called in for pizza delivery before they hit the shower. They ate in the living room while they watched one of those reality shows, "Wipeout", where contestants raced to the finish line. The hapless contestants were sprayed with slime, knocked into mud pits, bounced off giant balls, spun on giant wheels….
Danny had started to change the channel but Steve stopped him. "Don't change it. It gets better. It makes me feel so much better about my life."
When it was over, Danny and Steve were both sprawled on top of each other. Every time one of them laughed, it would set off the other. Danny asked, "How is it you've seen that before? Somehow, I missed penciling that show in on my lineup card."
"Just lucky I guess. Are you ready to head up for the night?" Steve checked the doors while Danny set the alarm. They changed the sheets, which were due for the laundry anyway, and fell into bed.
Steve pulled Danny close and stroked his back. "It will be okay Danny. I can probably call you and Grace or even e-mail you. When I come back, we'll do something special. Maybe I can book another weekend at the cabin."
"Whatever we do as a family, it's always special." Danny yawned and was asleep in minutes.
Steve stayed awake as long as he could, storing the feel and the scent of Danno in his memory banks for his time away. Eventually, he succumbed to sleep too.