A/N: This chapter is a bit short (and uneventful), so I'll try to put up the next one tomorrow to make up for that. Thank you for reading and sticking with the story. I hope you're enjoying it! Also, a huge Thank You to those who (continue to) review! I really appreciate the feedback!

Chapter 7

"Hey, wait! Detective Williams, you can't just go in there!"

Danny ignored the Governor's assistant – who had jumped up from her seat and was now dialing the phone to give her boss the heads up – as he walked straight towards the door to Denning's office. He didn't bother to knock before he walked right in.

Denning, who was sitting behind his desk, simply quirked an eyebrow at him. "It's alright, Michelle," he said and released the button on his speaker-phone. He then leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in front of himself. "Detective," he said flatly and nodded to the armchairs in front of his desk. "Why don't you have a seat?"

"I'd rather stand," Danny bit back curtly.

"Suit yourself." Denning just studied him where he stood for a long moment and then pursed his lips calculatingly. "I was expecting Commander McGarrett."

"He's taking a sick day. I'm sorry, but I'm all you gonna get today." Danny pressed his lips together and balled his hands to fists, shoving them deep into the pockets of his pants to stop them from flailing around. When Denning just acknowledge his statement with a slightest twitch of his mouth, Danny added, "You can tell me whatever it is that you want from him. I'll be sure to pass on the message."

The twitch turned into a small, rueful smile, which had Danny somewhat perplexed. "How is Commander McGarrett doing?" Denning asked, not without a discernible note of concern in his voice.

"He is doing as good as can be expected under the circumstances."

"I take it he's not doing very well, then." The expression on Denning's face darkened ever so slightly and he let his gaze drop to the desk in front of him for a brief moment. "Commander McGarrett doesn't know you're here, does he?" he asked, looking back up and straight at Danny.

He didn't answer, just glared back at Denning, wanting to be furious at the man because he needed someone to direct all that anger and frustration at . . . but Denning seemed determined to not make himself an easy target; not with all the sympathy and understanding that reflected in his whole demeanor.

"I understand that you are here because you think you need to protect Commander McGarrett–"

"You don't understand anything," Danny cut in harshly. There, that was better. He hated people who thought they knew what he was thinking. And right now, Danny didn't even care that Denning's guess was spot on. All he cared about was having a reason to be mad at the man.

"I am not the enemy, Detective," Denning stated flatly, his eyes narrowing.

"Is that right?"

"You clearly came here to say something, Detective," Denning said, sitting up straighter in his chair, his features hardening perceptibly. "Why don't you just go ahead and get it off your chest?"

Danny held the Governor's intense gaze for a long moment, clenching his fists tighter in his pants pockets, steeling his resolve. "What happened with Travis Dyer – it's not just Steve's fault. It's yours as much as it's mine and no matter how this thing is going to turn out, I will make damned sure that he's not gonna be the only one facing the consequences."

Denning merely raised an eyebrow at that. "I, for one, would hold off on assigning blame before we have all the facts," he said, his voice even and calm.

Danny snorted. "I guess that's easy to say for someone who has all his bases covered."

"And just what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Your lawyer, or whatever the hell she is," Danny all but shouted, arms spread wide now. "The one you sent down there the minute you heard about what was going on. The one who is probably right now very busy at work, making sure Dyer's parents won't sue the State for wrongful death. Because, what? You don't want this on your resume for the elections? Or was it simply because you don't have another million in this year's budget to spare, huh?"

"Detective–" Denning tried to cut in. But he had invited Danny to speak his mind and Danny wasn't done, so the excuses or threats or whatever Denning wanted to say would have to wait.

"You are one crude son of a bitch, you know that?" Danny spat, pointing a finger at the man still sitting behind his desk. "His parents just lost their nineteen-year-old son and all you care about is your reputation and money?"

"Detective–"

"But what else is new, right? It's all you've ever cared about. You're so caught up in the polls and your popularity that you don't even realize that there's no better man for the job than Steve. But you do what? You drop him the second one mistake happens? You just turn your back on him and try to get out with minimal damage yourself. You send your own lawyer but you don't even have the decency to provide the head of your task force with one? Don't you think you at least owe him that for all has done for you and for this miserable island? Is this, what, some kind of payback for–"

"That's enough," Denning droned loudly, making Danny almost reflexively clamp his mouth shut. "I think you've made your point," he continued sharply. "As I said before, I am not the enemy. And if you would stop for a second and think, Detective, you might just figure that out for yourself."

Danny just snorted. The man had a lot of nerve.

"I'm doing what I can to protect Commander McGarrett," Denning insisted.

"If that's really all–"

"I said you're done, Detective. Now it's my turn to talk."

The menacing edge in Denning's voice made Danny bite down his objections. Instead, he puffed his cheeks and nodded, motioning at Denning with a wave of his hand to continue with what he had to say.

"The only reason I sent Miss Keahi downstairs this morning was to ensure that Commander McGarrett doesn't say anything to Captain Kershaw that he might regret later. Unfortunately, that didn't work out as planned," Denning said and heaved a sigh. He dropped his gaze momentarily to his hands, before he looked back up at Danny with just a hint of regret in his eyes. "I can't get officially involved in the investigation unless it's on behalf of the State. Any direct involvement from this office on behalf of Commander McGarrett is only going to raise suspicion. And that could call the entire investigation and its outcome into question." Denning paused again, giving his words a moment to sink in. "I don't know about you, Detective Williams, but personally, I think Commander McGarrett already has enough on his plate as it is. He doesn't need any additional pressure or attention from a board of inquiry or the press."

"And I guess neither do you," Danny said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He understood what Denning was trying to say – that, either way it'd be best for Steve if it didn't look like the Governor pulled any strings in the investigation for him. But still, Danny couldn't help but feel that the man's motives for his actions weren't entirely altruistic in nature. He was a politician after all.

Denning just smiled ruefully. "I would be lying if I said that I am not also personally interested in avoiding this matter garnering any more attention than absolutely necessary."

The admission took Danny by surprise, reminding him of his apparent lapse in judgment and outburst. "Sir, I don't know–"

"Don't apologize, Detective," Denning cut in, shaking his head. "I do appreciate your . . . passion," he added, but looked like he was unhappy with his choice of words. Maybe he was just too much of a gentleman to call it a fit – which Danny himself considered somewhat accurate in hindsight. "And just for the record, Detective. I certainly can be a crude son of a bitch. But trust me, you don't want to be around to see it."

With a tired huff of acknowledgment, Danny stepped around one of the armchairs in front of Denning's desk and let himself drop down onto it. "What's gonna happen now?" he asked, almost certain that he wouldn't like the answer. Because he, for one, couldn't quite picture a way how this entire mess could turn out without at least some collateral damage. "I mean, what if . . ."

"As I said earlier, I'd rather not speculate until we know what exactly happened," Denning said as he once more leaned back in his chair.

"I know, but . . . what's the worst case scenario?" Danny bit down on the insides of his lips, bracing himself for the answer he really, really didn't want to hear.

Denning sighed and then looked Danny square in the eye. "Well, worst case, Commander McGarrett could be charged with negligent manslaughter or homicide–"

"Homicide?" Danny said, more to himself than to Denning. He knew all along that it could come down to this, but hearing Denning say it out loud made the possibility just that much more real.

"Yes," Denning said calmly. "However, the very competent people in my legal department tell me that it's rather unlikely. Commander McGarrett is also protected by immunity and – given the circumstances – I am not inclined to waive it."

Danny bent forward in his chair, resting his arms on his thighs, taking the information in and trying to concentrate on breathing evenly. "What if a judge overturns the immunity?" he asked, glancing up at Denning.

"It's a possibility, but for that to happen he'd have to be charged in the first place and, frankly, the DA is a big fan of your work. Speaking off record, I don't think he'd be inclined to press charges if not absolutely necessary."

Danny nodded, feeling somewhat relieved by the Governor's words. "Okay, that's– that's good."

"It's no guarantee, though," Denning added seriously. "The DA has a duty to the people of this State, too, and he will prosecute if he has to."

"I know," Danny nodded again and dropped his head, running a tired hand over his face. Denning wasn't exactly telling him that everything would be okay, but now there was a silver lining – and Danny felt like he could hold onto that, at least until they had some answers.

"I'm afraid that's not all."

The sudden hard edge in Denning's voice made Danny's head snap up again.

"Regardless of criminal liability, I might be facing some outside pressure to –" he trailed off, searching for the right words, "–reevaluate Commander McGarrett's position with Five-0."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Denning dropped his gaze and then stared out of the window to his right for a moment. "Five-0 is my responsibility, Detective," he said and then looked back to Danny. "It is my job to make sure that you can do yours."

Danny felt his stomach clench at the Governor's words, not liking where he was going with this.

"And, to be honest, right now I am not convinced that Commander McGarrett can lead the task force effectively."

"Sir," Danny said jumping up from his chair, ready to argue on Steve's behalf.

But before he could continue, Denning simply held up a hand to him. "Calm down, Detective, this is just between you and me."

"Sir," Danny said again, with less force this time but still not without vehemence. Just because this was between just them didn't mean that Denning had any more of a point. And besides, it had somehow become a reflex for Danny to defend Steve. Especially the last few weeks had made him a little more protective of his partner than what might be reasonable.

Maybe Denning was right. Maybe relieving Steve of the burden that came with the job was best for him right now. But Danny also knew what the task force meant to his partner. Losing it might just as well be the straw to break the camel's back.

So all Danny could do right now was giving in to his instincts. Defend and protect his partner. It's what he had come here for in the first place. "It was one mistake. And the drug bust– that was just impossible to do within the time–"

"This is not about the case."

"It was one mistake," Danny repeated, aware that the tone of his voice held a desperate edge now.

"It's also not just about what happened with Travis Dyer. Do you remember the Vonakov case?" Denning asked, nodding to a small stack of folders on his desk in front of him.

Of course Danny did remember.

"Dennis, listen– Listen to me! Hey, hey! No, no! No!"

"I admit that, at the time, I was a little too preoccupied dealing with the Russians to realize that Commander McGarrett acted alarmingly reckless in the course of the investigation."

"Alarmingly reckless?" Danny said absently, his mind skipping over the term. Steve was the walking, talking, breathing definition of alarmingly reckless. On a good day. That was just how he was. It was a SEAL thing, or a McGarrett thing, or whatever. But Denning was right. The Vonakov case had been different – Steve's voice, skipping in Danny's head like a broken record was proof enough. In hindsight, it felt like some sort of scale had tipped that day. Steve's usually kind of reckless and crazy had become something more, something scary.

"Detective?" Denning's voice startled Danny. "Have you noticed any changes in Commander McGarrett, maybe starting after the incident in North Korea?"

The simple answer was yes. But Denning wasn't exactly the person Danny wanted to share his concerns with. And neither was it his place to discuss the matter with Denning without Steve even being there. So he simply shrugged. "I don't know, sir."

Denning's calculating eyes lingered on Danny for a long moment, making him feel like he was being read like an open book, written in block letters. Danny tried hard not to cringe under the intense gaze. After a long moment, Denning's mouth twitched to a brief smile. "I understand, Detective," he said, almost softly. "I'm putting you in charge of Five-0–"

Danny opened his mouth to protest, but once more Denning silenced him by holding up a hand. "Just until this matter is resolved. Suspending Commander McGarrett from his duties with the task force is standard procedure."

Heaving a sigh, Danny nodded. "And after the investigation?" Another question he really didn't want to hear the answer to.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it," Denning said and got up from his chair, indicating to Danny that the conversation was over. This wasn't his place either, what happened afterward was between Denning and Steve.

Nodding again, Danny stood, too.

"Next time I ask for Commander McGarrett, I am going to expect Commander McGarrett."

Danny held Denning's gaze for a moment and then shrugged up one shoulder. "I'll see what I can do."

- to be continued -