Disclaimer: No, Hawaii 5-0 doesn't belong to me. It does to CBS.

A/N: I wish to thank all of you for your support and interest in the story. I'm very happy you are enjoying it. Special thanks to Marie Thea who took the time to beta the story for me. This one is very important to me, so it was worth the wait in order to do it right.

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TAKEN

8: Taking pain

Steve had invited Danny's family to stay over while in Hawaii. There were plenty of rooms in his childhood home, and he felt it was the least he could do to help during this difficult time.

While Danny's parent's, Caroline and James, had gone straight to the hospital once in Hawaii, their daughter, Allison, had visited her brother only on her second day, preferring to share the first day with her niece. The night following the hospital visit, she woke screaming around two a.m. Caroline had apologized to Steve and had insisted that he go back to sleep while they comforted her. However, he had not been able to find peace of mind later on, thinking that the Williams had had far more than their share of nightmares over the years.

From what Steve had gathered, the Gesners had been neighbours of the Williams for a few years, living a floor below in the same apartment building. By age nine, Darren's fascination for fire had already raised a few flags. Despite counselling and parental vigilance, one day after school, the boy had set up a small fire in their building's basement. He had then left it unattended, going up for his supper and not going back down. During the evening, the fire had expanded. By 1:30 a.m., it had spread to all three floors, seriously injuring Danny and costing Allison her sight.

For the last two days, Allison had practically taken residence in one of the Adirondack chairs facing the ocean. Danny's sister was a beautiful, conservatively dressed woman. About two inches taller than her older brother, she had straight brown hair sweeping on her shoulders. Except for the blue eyes, she did not much resemble Danny. She had inherited their father's dark features, while her older sibling was the portrait of their mother.

"Allison, it's Steve," he announced himself as joined her on the deck. "I have some lemonade for you."

"Thank you." The blind woman extended a hand and Steve brought the glass into her reach. "You're a very generous host."

"Your brother would dispute that," he said lightly as sat in the chair next to her, holding his own glass.

She laughed softly. "Danny says a lot of things. You have to filter through some of that anger and frustration of his to get to his point, but he's not all that grumpy a person. Danny actually cares a lot about people, much more than he wishes to let on. You know, Steve, he does appreciate you as his partner – well most of the time," she added with a teasing smile. "Has your friend Chin taken my parents back to the hospital?"

"Chin and Kono brought Danny's Camaro over for them earlier" he told her. "Chin found Danny's second set of keys in his desk at the office."

"Do you still think the original set was lost in the fire?" she asked, her expression distant.

"We do. Danny probably had it in his pocket all along. We're not sure how it played out, but Danny's wrists might have been freed from the handcuffs while the other was tied to something in the shed. Once he got the chance, he would have used the handcuffs' key on his chain to free himself completely, dropping the set as he escaped out of the shed."

"He most have been so scared…" Allison said, voice cracking. "How he survived this… It's beyond me."

Steve over and put a comforting hand on her arm. "Danny has Grace," he pointed out. "He lives every moment without her in the expectation of being with her again."

"He sure does love the little one," agreed Allison with a fond smile. She took another sip of her lemonade. "From the moment she was born, Gracie became Danny's source of comfort through a world of pain, uncertainty and, at times, unbearable sense of responsibility towards those he loves. Danny has such a deep understanding of what pain is. I've been told it's what makes him a great police officer. It also overwhelms him to the point that he shoves you aside, biting hard to make sure you stay away, if necessary."

"I certainly can relate to that," Steve confessed, his gaze suddenly lost in the depth of his glass. "When your brother called to inform Danny of the incident in your building, Danny and I were… arguing about work. After the call, he fell into his own little world. He wouldn't talk to me. I learned about what happened to you through somebody else."

Allison nodded, understanding. "Danny never liked to talk about the fire. He says it makes him feel like a victim, makes him feel vulnerable. He avoids it as much as he can."

Steve sat straighter in his chair. "I wish he had trusted us enough to share the scars with us instead of having us teasing him about the fact that he never goes swimming or the way he dresses."

"You tease him about the way he dresses?" asked Allison, incredulous.

"I can't help it," Steve defended himself. "The tie is a bit much."

"I thought ties were nice."

"Not such much in Hawaii," he told her.

She snorted. "Rachel always liked him wearing ties. It's probably why he does."

"She still has quite a hold on him, hasn't she?" Steve observed.

"I think they still care about each other. They wouldn't want to kill another each time they talked if they didn't. I hope they'll be able to work through their anger sooner rather than later. It's hard on three of them."

"Trust me; it's hard on all of us."

She laughed. "I can imagine… Danny isn't the easiest guy to work with when he's cranky." Her expression sobered. "Steve, he's going to be all right, isn't he?"

"You bet he will," he assured her. "Danno is a fighter."

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A/N: I hope this gave the background this story needed so much.

(Dec 2010).