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.
Spoiler Alert: Contains details from Episode 8, Lapa'au, but Danny doesn't have his own apartment and he doesn't give the dog to Grace.
The good mood lasted until their next case. Monica Jennsen, a young DEA agent, died in a plane crash. At least that was the first indication. Max estimated the time of death at eight hours ago, but the Cessna had a maximum flight time of four hours. Jennsen had been murdered. Lori worked with Jennsen's boss, Jeff Morrison, previously on a federal task force. Morrison was pleased to see the 5-0 task force on the case; Lori spoke highly of their dedication.
Lori met Morrison at Jennsen's office to retrieve her red book, a report of Jennsen's activities on the job. The red book wasn't there; Lori met Steve and Danny at Jennsen's home to search for the book. They were almost attached by Jennsen's dog; only Danny's quick response and his affection for dogs prevented it. Danny found evidence of a break-in in the kitchen; someone had also tried to drug the dog.
Lori found the red book in a desk; however, several pages had been torn out. Lori knew that it was against procedure to remove pages. The book was the target of the break-in. Steve found a digital camera with surveillance photos; one man appeared in several shots. Danny insisted that they bring the dog with them to prevent the dog from further scene contamination.
Steve accepted that explanation until Danny let the dog in the passenger seat and then sat in the driver's seat. Steve was forced to fold his long legs into the back seat while the dog rode shotgun. Danny insisted that dogs get carsick unless they ride by the window. Steve was surprised that Danny knew so much about dogs all of a sudden. Danny revealed that he always had dogs; his last dog went to Rachel in the divorce and died in quarantine in Hawaii.
Steve let it pass for now. He knew that divorce was devastating, and he knew that Rachel had deliberately screwed Danny over every way possible. Steve didn't know why it surprised him that Danny had lost something else so precious. He had to admit that they made a comical sight: Danny driving with the dog in front and Steve jammed in the back.
Kono was able to identify the man in the photos, Liam Miller. Steve received a call that the black box from the plane had been retrieved. When Steve and Danny left to pick up the box, Danny insisted they bring the dog. Danny said he would take the dog to the animal shelter as soon as he had time. Steve knew Danny would hang onto the dog as long as possible. They both knew that they couldn't keep the dog. They worked too many long days; it wouldn't be fair to the dog.
Chin and Kono interviewed Miller. He was a cancer patient and a medical marijuana user. The chemo's side effects were brutal, but Miller's tumor was shrinking. Miller told Chin that Jennsen had asked for his assistance in investigating a smoke shop, Pipe Dreams. On the way back to the car, Chin took a personal call. Kono guessed that the caller was Malia, Chin's former fiancé.
Kono had been unhappy when Chin started seeing Malia after he was cleared of stealing the money from the asset forfeiture locker. But Malia tried to intervene with Kono during her IAD investigation. Kono knew that Malia loved Chin and decided to accept the relationship for Chin's sake. He looked a lot happier these days. Out in the car, they joked about second hand smoke and Chin's sudden appetite.
Meanwhile, Lori and Morrison visited Max at the morgue. He had identified the cause of death: the poison from a puffer fish. The poison wasn't readily available which added another puzzle to solve.
Kono went to the smoke shop and busted the guy behind the counter. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Their suspect, Brody Campbell, lawyered up but denied seeing the DEA agent. Chin confiscated the film from the security camera.
While Kono checked the footage, Lori and Morrison came in. They had a print from the red book; their perp was Jason Akita. Chin recognized Akita's picture from the security footage. He was a two-time offender, enough motive to kill the agent. Steve and Danny also came in with the black box (which was really red) from the Cessna.
Steve, Danny, and Lori chased Akita down, literally. Akita dropped his bag as Lori and Danny chased him down an alley, but it was Steve who tackled him by the street. Lori found drugs in the bag, and Akita was hauled in for questioning.
Akita claimed to be an informant, and that he only tore out the pages with his name on them. Akita burned the pages but Kono found the remnants. Kono took them to Charlie Fong to see if he could pull any useful data off.
Lori and Morrison were attempting to analyze the evidence from the flight data recorder. Unfortunately, the dog was vocally protesting Danny's absence. There was good news and bad news. The good news was that Lori was able to identify the flight path and the approximate location where the killer jumped out of the plane. The bad news was that the dog left a mess in Steve's office. Danny took the dog out for a walk, but it was too late.
Lori and Chin rode ATV's to the forest and found the jumper's chute. Fong in the lab was able to pull an address off Kono's charred remains. Steve, Danny, and Kono with Morrison and HPD as backup raided the warehouse. The front area was filled with employees making leis; the hideout in the back was filled with illegal and endangered birds and animals.
Steve and Danny head to Kamekona's shrimp truck to ask who might be behind a poaching ring, bringing the dog along. Steve didn't want to clean his office again. Kamekona had no idea who might be bringing animals in, but points them to Chinatown when Max identifies pills found at the raid as shark cartilage.
From all appearances, Dr. Yang had been abducted from his medicine shop. Chin had identified tire prints from the forest where he and Lori found the parachute. The tire belonged to a vintage motorcycle, and one was owned by Liam Miller. Miller was also a jumper and a pilot.
Steve, Danny, and Morrison went to arrest Miller. He came in while they were searching his house. Miller thought Dr. Yang could cure his pancreatic cancer. He killed Jennsen to protect Yang, and he kidnapped Yang when we discovered that his cancer was progressing. Dr. Yang was a fake. Miller led Steve, Danny, and Morrison to Yang's location before he died from the chemo drip that Miller had set up.
It had been a very long day, but the case was solved. Grace was with Rachel this week so Steve and Danny didn't need to worry about getting home. They took Miller in and booked him for one count of murder for Jennsen's death and multiple charges for his crimes against Dr. Yang.
"Danny, the mutt is still here. When are you going to take him to the animal shelter? I swear, you're cleaning up any more special presents." Steve hated to push Danny on the point, but what choice did he have?
"Steven, when have I had a chance to go to the shelter? We've been chasing down leads and suspects all day. We had the raid at the lei factory, and the trip to the shrimp wagon. I checked out the animal shelter schedule on their website. It's too late to take him to the shelter tonight." Danny had become attached to the dog over the course of the day.
"What, you want to take the dog home? I have hardwood floors in most of the house Danny. Do you know what a dog could do to the floors? Besides, you're just delaying the inevitable. We can't keep the dog, Danny. I don't have a place to keep the dog outside. Besides, he was an inside dog at Jennsens's. We would be charged with animal neglect, and rightfully so." Steve had kind of enjoyed watching Danny with the dog, but he had no options.
"I know. I just hate to take him to the shelter. He's not a puppy, and the chances are that the shelter will have to put him down. He's lost his master. I just hate to do that to him." Danny was defeated; he knew Steve was right.
"I tell you what. Why don't you make a few phone calls and see if you can find anyone to take him. We'll take him home tonight, but you're responsible for making sure he takes his business outside." Steve at least wanted to give the dog a chance.
"That's fair enough Steve. Are we ready to go home?" Danny was tired and knew that he would have to do some smooth talking to find a home for his canine friend.
"Yeah, do you want to pick up some supper on the way home? I guess we'll have to get carryout." Steve was willing to make a concession for the dog tonight. Steve drove while Danny made some phone calls. The first was to Grace, to say goodnight. She was excited when she heard the dog in the background. Under other circumstances, he would have given the dog to Grace. Then he would have been Rachel and Stan's problem. With their new détente, Danny knew that wouldn't be playing fair.
"I wish we could have a dog, Danno. Ali had a dog, but he was old and died. She still has his dog bed and everything. Ali wants to get a new dog, but Emelina isn't ready to train a puppy." That gave Danny an idea. He finished his call with Grace and dashed into the restaurant to get their take-out order.
Steve had ordered burgers, including a couple of extra patties with nothing on them. The burgers were still warm when Danny broke the patties up for the dog. He found a plastic plate for the food and an old pan for water. Danny knew whatever he used would be in the trash in the morning. He snapped a couple of pictures of the dog and made a call.
A few minutes later, Danny was whistling when he came in with his burger and a beer. He sat on the couch next to Steve and planted a big kiss on Steve's mouth.
"What was that for, not that I'm complaining? Any luck on Fido?" Steve was relieved to see Danny in a good mood. He put his burger down, and pulled down Danny in for another kiss. He was tempted to go further, but he hadn't eaten all day. Danny would wait but the burger wouldn't.
"Hmm, thanks for the kiss. I'm just a genius some days. I need to drive in separately tomorrow; I have an errand to run in the morning." They watched the news and finished their meal. Danny walked the dog and made a place for him in the garage with an old beach blanket. Danny knew that he would have to replace the blanket, but it would be worth it. "Stay here boy. Maybe tomorrow I can find a new home for you."
Steve put their plates up and put the bottles away. He needed to take the empties back for refund. Maybe he would do that this weekend. He was upstairs stripping down for a shower when Danny came up. "Is the dog down for the night?"
Danny had pulled off his shoes and was working on his shirt. "Yeah, he's in the garage. I made sure that there wasn't anything he could get into. He's got water, and I put some paper down. That's what Jennsen did. I'll walk him first thing in the morning. I know we can't keep him, but I really miss having a dog."
Steve pulled Danny into a hug. "I know babe, but it's just not possible now. Maybe when Grace is older, we could consider it. Right now, it wouldn't be fair to any of us. Can I make it up to you?" Steve unbuckled Danny's belt and pulled it out of the loops with one long motion. He unbuttoned the pants and pulled down the zipper. Then he hooked his thumbs on Danny's pants and took them down along with his boxers.
Steve leaned down to plant a string of kisses from Danny's jaw down to his shoulder. His hands were everywhere, down Danny's back and on his ass. Danny had a great ass. Steve walked him backwards to the bed and pushed him down.
Danny was in the mood now. It had been the last thing on his mind when he came upstairs, but Steve could always put him in the mood. Danny had initiated most of the sex in his marriage, and wasn't always successful in convincing Rachel to go along. Steve never turned him down, not even once. If anything, Steve was always in the mood. They didn't make love every day, but they did spend time cuddling in bed or on the couch every day.
"I think you could probably come up with something to take my mind off things. What did you have in mind?" Danny flipped Steve on his back and straddled his hips. He started his own assault on Steve's neck and chest. He wanted to touch and he wanted to taste.
"Hey, I can't show you if you're hogging the action." Steve wrestled for control and they rolled around the bed. Steve enjoyed this particular brand of foreplay. It was a physical manifestation of their carguments. They both touched where they wanted and were touched in return.
"Do you know how funny you looked folded in the back seat like that?" Danny had a hard time driving and watching Steve in the back seat at the same time. He wished they had a dash-cam so he could have taped it. Danny was laughing at the memory.
"Hey, I told you that laughing at this point in the process does nothing to improve my performance. It's a good thing that I'm a confident individual." Steve protested as he pinned Danny's wrists on the bed.
"That's okay. The dog got to ride shotgun." Those were Danny's last words for a while. Steve covered Danny's mouth with his own and his hands were busy. Their coupling was hard and fast. It was like that often when the cases hit too close to home. A young agent had been lost today, and all they could do was bring her killer to justice. Monica Jennsen had been on the job about the same time as Kono. The loss had hit Jeff Morrison hard. This was the way that Steve and Danny coped sometimes.
They were breathing hard and curled around each other. Steve loved the way Danny's chest hair felt against his own chest. It provided the perfect amount of friction against his nipples. He was rubbing lazy circles on Danny's hip.
Danny was the first to speak. "I hate days like today when we're too late to save anyone. In the old days, you would have found something to blow up or someone to dangle over a tall building. Now we get to do this. I like this better."
"I don't know Danno, you need to blow something up first and then we can compare notes. It's the feel of the grenade and that wonderful thrill of pulling the pin. And the big bang at the finish gets me hot every time."
"Yeah, I have to say that you've got the big bang down to a fine art. Let's get cleaned up. I need to get up early and walk the dog." Danny started to get up but Steve held him in place.
"Is that a euphemism for sex Danny?" Steve was nibbling on Danny's ear again.
"No, and stop that. You can stay here; I'm going to use up all the hot water." Danny made another attempt to get up, but Steve wouldn't relinquish his hold.
"I'm not finished yet. I want to play some more." Steve knew he was whining, but Danny looked so happy.
"We'll play again tomorrow, I promise. We don't have Grace until Friday night. Tomorrow, I'll tie you to the bed and everything. There will be whipped cream and hot fudge and everything." Danny knew that Steve was trying to take his mind off the dog that would be gone in the morning.
"Will you put a cherry on top like the last time? That was my favorite part."
"Yes, there will be cherries. Can we get cleaned up now?" Danny was finally allowed to get his shower, and Steve even washed his back.