A/N: You guys are too good to me! Seriously, all the reviews and favorites...ahh, you guys just make me really happy :)
Tuesday was surprisingly, suspiciously, normal.
Steve walked—stumbled, more like; he'd muttered something about a headache, and squinted at Danny like his vision had suddenly gone south—into the office at around 7:05, trudged into his office, and shut the door with finality, starting off an entire shift of paperwork.
It was a weirdly uneventful tour of duty.
Not that Danny was complaining, or anything. He had Grace next weekend, and he was hoping to make it to Saturday bullet-free, thank you. The whole not-jumping-in-front-of-cars-or-blowing-things-up deal was nice, but again, it was...unusual. Almost unsettling.
Steve especially. The ex-SEAL, who'd come to work sporting a spectacularly yellowish-purple bruise over his left eye, had been quiet all day, and hadn't once emerged from his office, not even for lunch.
His silence worried Chin and Kono, too, though, like Danny, neither of them were very willing to approach Steve on the subject. Their leader had made it perfectly clear that he did not want to be disturbed, and Danny was doing his best to avoid a confrontation.
But for God's sake, something needed to be said. Steve's attitude was making them all cranky. Evidently, something was up with Steve, and Danny wanted answers; no more of this stoic-I-can-handle-it-Navy-SEAL crap. If whatever was wrong Friday was still affecting Steve, then Danny needed to know.
They were a team, they were ohana. Family worked out their problems together.
Of course, leave it to Steve to read Danny like a book, guess his intentions, and go home before Danny could notice.
What the actual fuck.
Danny made a point of communicating his irritation in a not so passive-aggressive voicemail. Because of course, Steve wasn't answering his phone.
"Okay, Steve, what the hell. No seriously, what the hell. You've been weird all week; you're sick yesterday, then you waltz into the office like nothing's wrong, and then leave before any of us can call you out on it. What, are you avoiding us now? Is this going to be a thing? Let's have a problem, but just ignore 'til it goes away? Oh yeah, that sounds like a good plan.
"...look, Steve, I'm your partner, and me, Kono, and Chin, we're your team, but more than that: we're your family. If you think we can't tell something's up with you, then you're wrong. I'm just...I'm really worried about you, man. You gotta tell me what's going on. So, call or something. Just...let me help you, okay? I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Don't do anything stupid."
Then, to double-check, Danny swung by Steve's house, but the lights were off and the house was deserted. Typical Steve-like avoidance, he knew all the places his partner would look for him.
Danny tried to calm his mind a little on the drive home, but it wasn't much use. Okay, yes, he'd been kind of concerned about Steve on Friday. And he'd been pretty concerned Monday. But now he was reaching a new state of worry, and Steve's escapism wasn't exactly helping.
He'd tried to give his partner space, because Danny knew that, for as much as he reassured Steve that he and the cousins were there for him, the ex-SEAL preferred to sort out his problems inside his own head. And he'd tried to respect that, tried to respect Steve's need for reflection and independence.
It wasn't like McGarrett was incapable of taking care of himself. Steve was an adult, he could handle most things.
But not this, this...whatever it was.
Tomorrow; tomorrow he would sort things out.
Sorry for the shortish chapter; the next one's already in the works!
Reviews make me update faster ;)