IMPORTANT! If you read the Epilogue before 10am Eastern time last Saturday, you probably missed the Monday Morning scene. I've added it (sorry about that), so the epilogue is now complete.

These are scenes from the final chapter that got cut for whatever reason.

"So this is 'camping.'" A grinning Kono nudged Danny with her foot as the Detective blinked blearily in the early morning sunlight. "I didn't realize 'camping' could be so hazardous."

"Or involve so many bullets," Chin added as he held up a shell casing.

Both cousins were speaking softly, but Danny saw a phone being discreetly tucked into a pocket and guessed that blackmail material had already been taken. He groaned. Rolling over, he saw Steve still asleep on the floor near the desk, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath. Careful not to step on his partner, he slowly extricated himself from his sleeping bag and gestured for the cousins to follow him to the break room, where their voices were less likely to be heard.

"Well?" Impatient, Kono tapped her foot restlessly against the table leg while Danny tiredly patted his pockets for spare change for a coffee. Chin, finally taking mercy on him, popped several quarters into the machine. With a grateful nod, Danny took the small cup and plopped down at the table, deliberately avoiding Kono's stare.

"Well?" Kono tried again. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Danny snorted softly as he shook his head. "What didn't happen is a better question." He blew gently on the open cup and allowed his mind a moment to wander while ripples spread across the surface. Then he took a tentative sip. "It started with a unicorn."

"This unicorn?" Kono slid the newspaper in front of him and Danny found himself face-to-face with his partner astride the dusty, no-longer-white mare, hurtling through downtown Honolulu. "Nice shot, by the way."

"Yeah, I wasn't there for that bit."

"Because you were in the hospital?" Chin asked with a nod to the bracelet peeking around Danny's sleeve.

"No. Not that time." He shook his sleeve down over the plastic band. "I was picking up lunch, actually."

"So how did Steve end up on a unicorn? And how'd you end up in the ER?"

"Which time?"

Chin and Kono exchanged a look. "Brah… How many times were you admitted in the past week?"

"Uh…" Danny counted quickly on his fingers. "Three. I think." He took another sip of coffee. "Yeah, three."

"Going for a record?" Chin asked drily.

"What about bossman?" Kono asked, gesturing back toward the office where Steve was still sleeping. "If you were admitted three times, then he must've been in the hospital at least five."

"Oh, he was only in there once." Danny could see from their raised eyebrows that the cousins didn't quite believe him. He wasn't surprised. On any other day, such a scenario was implausible at best. "He probably should've gotten checked out after Mauna Kea, but…"

"Mauna Kea?"

"Yeah. That was my second time. Exposure, hypothermia-"

"Wait, what? When was that?"

Despite his weariness, Danny grinned. He loved a good story, and right now Steve wasn't here to interrupt and 'correct' him. "That was Thursday. Steve may have gotten checked out at Hilo, but he wasn't admitted with me."

"Hang on. How'd you end up taking down a Russian terrorist cell- or whatever the heck this was- if you two spent half the week in the hospital?" Kono asked, skimming the article for clues. "It doesn't say much about what happened."

"That's because it's classified." It felt so good to say that. After years of hearing Steve throw the word around with an almost haughty carelessness, Danny couldn't help the enjoyment and satisfaction of saying it himself. (Of course, the downside, he suddenly realized, was that he couldn't say some things, even if he wanted to, which meant the story was going to have some holes.)

"Come on- that's Steve's line," Chin put in, almost impatiently. "What did you guys get into?"

"And start at the beginning," Kono added quickly. "How did it begin? When did you first end up in the hospital? Go in order."

"Fine. It started with a call about a unicorn loose along the H3." Danny described the events of that day, but he left out Daniel Ma….

…

"…then Chinese guy waterboarded me-"

"You?"

"What? You think only Steve is important enough to be tortured?" Slightly miffed at Kono's skeptical expression, Danny pulled the small (and brand new) inhaler from his pocket and showed it off like a war trophy. "Why else would I have this?"

"So what did they want?" Kono asked, but a new voice answered for him.

"Information about the unicorn." Leaning heavily on his cane, Steve appeared in the doorway and limped into the room, lowering himself gingerly into the nearest chair. "And technically, I was being tortured. They were beating you up to extract information from me."

Kono grimaced in sympathy. "Somehow I think that sounds worse."

Danny waved him off. "Quit stealing my thunder. This is my story."

"Oh really? And what, I just played a supporting role while the Great Daniel Williams saved the day?"

"Yes."

Steve made a loud scoffing noise while Chin chuckled. Kono stood.

"Where are you going?" Danny asked.

"Popcorn," Kono thumbed toward her office. "Need snacks for the entertainment."

3 days later

"So…" Chin set two non-alcoholic beers in the sand and dropped into the chair next to Steve's. "Howzit?"

"Not bad. Better if I could have a longboard."

"Brah, we both know you can't have those with your current meds."

"Yeah, yeah." Steve wrinkled his nose at the fake beer, but popped the cap off anyway.

"I'm not bad, I guess. No lasting bladder or kidney damage, cuts and bruises are healing nicely."

Chin eyed the crutches that lay in the sand between them. "And the leg?"

"Hurts," Steve admitted. He leaned back and studied the waves. "Have to do physical therapy to help with the muscle damage. Doctor estimates at least two weeks before I can think about being in the field."

"Good thing you're already on desk duty, then." Chin was running the task force temporarily at both Steve and Danny's request. He'd been initially concerned Danny told him- in front of a very disgruntled Steve- that the Commander was benched for two weeks. With Danny not quite at 100%, Chin was worried the task of keeping their leader inside and compliant with the order would fall to him, but the injury had nicely taken care of it instead. His mouth twitched in amusement at Steve's annoyed frown. "How's Danny?" he asked.

Steve shrugged. "I dunno, Chin. He's struggling, but he hasn't told me. I think he's embarrassed."

"Why would he be embarrassed? You two are best friends."

"I'm a decorated war hero who's been through shit and come out the other side looking 'perfectly fine.' Danny's not there yet. In his mind, what he went through in New York isn't the same. He doesn't have the same faith in himself that he puts in me."

"How do you know Danny's struggling?"

"Saw him in the locker room after training." Steve had watched from the sidelines earlier that day while the other three teammates sparred on the practice mats. "He was cleaning up at the sink."

"What do you mean?"

"He was showering at the sink, Chin. Washcloth, soap, shampoo- the works. Didn't want to take a real shower. I asked."

"Waterboarding?"

Steve shrugged.

"You talk to him?"

"Right then? That's just awkward, brah."

Chin chuckled. "So later, then. Maybe he'd do better with a bath."

"Maybe." Steve rubbed the bottle back and forth between his fingers. "He needs to talk to someone."

"Doesn't he have to do at least one session anyway?" Chin asked. "Department policy, remember?"

"Yeah. But this is gonna take more than just one session, I think. I just don't know if he'll listen to me when I suggest it."

"So, what if you two go together?

Steve hadn't considered this. In reflection, he wasn't sure why he hadn't considered it. Almost everything that happened that week, they had been through together, so it would make sense for them to attend at least one session together. Steve's own policy-mandated session was fast approaching- why not take Danny with him?

"Yeah…" It was a solid idea, and easily disguised as an apology for not taking him to his checkup the previous week. Danny could gracefully acquiesce without feeling guilty over some self-perceived weakness, and Steve would be there to help. "I'll do that. Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

…

"Commander McGarrett?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Regarding the matter you brought to our attention: there is an active investigation with possible charges pending against your person of interest. Dereliction of duty and due diligence for now… there may be more. I can't say anything else at the moment. And this information is completely off-the-record."

"I understand. Thank you, sir."

Hanging up, Steve looked at the time on his phone. 10:05 p.m. Danny would still be up; he could call and tell him.

But… he hesitated. Danny technically wasn't supposed to know. Steve groaned in frustration. Danny deserved to know… hell, he deserved a lot more than that, but Steve couldn't tell him. Regulations were regulations and even Steve knew better than to flaunt this particular rule. His contact had taken a risk in calling him; Steve would be a fool to put himself or his contact in danger by releasing information.

Steve waged an internal battle for several minutes, his fingers scrolling absently through his contacts as he debated his next move. Finally settling on a middle-of-the-road response, he placed the call.

"Hey D?" Steve wasn't sure Danny had picked up at first; all he heard was a muffled rustling sound that might have been static. Then:

"Steven, what the…" His voice rough with sleep, Danny was apparently already in bed and Steve grimaced guiltily. "Steven, it is after 10 p.m. This had better be good."

"Just wanted to tell you that I took care of things."

"Things? What things?" The bed creaked as Danny sat up. "And what do you mean, you'took care of' them?" he asked suspiciously.

Tired and on the verge of irritability, Danny was probably not in the mood to figure out subtext, and Steve wasn't comfortable telling him outright over the phone. Steve sighed.

"Nevermind."

"You can't 'nevermind' your way out of a statement like that, Steven. I may be tired, but I'm awake now, so spill: what did you do?"

"Nothing. I didn't do anything, D. Go back to sleep."

"Bull. What did you do?"

"Nothing!"

"Do I need to call Doris?"

Steve took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He counted to five.

"Steven?"

Steve released his breath slowly. "Danny, I just called to let you know that… that your friend has run into legal issues. He won't be around for the next case."

"My friend? Which friend?"

He was too tired to even catch the sarcastically-veiled hint. Steve threaded a hand through his hair. "Your friend. My friend. The one involved with the fence."

Pause. "Oh. Oh. That friend." Another pause. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing. He just ran into legal issues. That's all."

"Uh huh."

"Honest, Danny. Please go to sleep."

"Fine. But only because I need my strength so I can interrogate you for better answers in the morning."

"Good. You do that." The line went dead and Steve knocked the phone against his head. Stupid. Stupid call. It would come back to bite him at some point; Steve was sure of that.

But he grinned. Even if someone did find out, Danny would still have the last laugh. Steve wished he could see Thule's face. It wouldn't be smug and serious any more. Colonel High-and-Mighty Danny had nicknamed him the other day. They needed a new nickname. Colonel Court Martial had a nice ring to it.

…

(This is a separate version of the retelling scene where Kono finally gets the story on what happened. I liked both, but ultimately decided to cut both from the final draft.)

"So brah. This horse…"

"That's a unicorn." Danny peered over Kono's shoulder at the newspaper spread on the makeshift plywood table in the bullpen of the office. He brushed a few malasada crumbs off the paper as he took another bite of his malasada and pointed to the horn dangling from its neck. "See? Unicorn."

"And why is the boss riding it?"

"Because he was being chased by Russians." With Steve gone on an errand with Chin, Danny was free to embellish the story as much as he wanted but, oddly enough, the facts seemed more than enough for a thrilling, if confusing, retelling of the events.

"But you said the Chinese waterboarded you."

"Yeah. And some local gang shot me."

"So where do the Russians fit in?"

"See that is why you and Chin need to come to Steve's tonight. We'll tell you the whole story then."

"So why aren't you in this picture?"

"Because I had to run out and pick up lunch. Next thing I know, that crap is going down," Danny jabbed a sugary finger at the picture, "and there are Russians shooting tear gas everywhere."

"Brah, why didn't you call us?"

"You were at a wedding!"

Kono scowled and Danny pulled a look of innocence as he reached into the bag for another malasada.

"I mean, we thought about it, but it didn't seem serious at first- just a lost horse, you know? And then it kept growing and getting crazier and crazier…"

"At what point would you have finally called us? When one of you died? Would it take both of you being unconscious in the ER before someone decided to notify us that our team was in danger?"

"You know what?" Danny deliberately spoke with his mouth full, scattering sugar across the table. "I think you're jealous. You had to go to some boring wedding while Steve and I got to handle our most thrilling case in ages."

"Oh, I am not jealous, brah. And I bet you were not this smug when you were freezing your butt off on Mauna Kea." She eyed him critically. "But maybe I should be worried about your mental health since you seem to be enjoying this?"

"I'm not enjoying it," Danny lied easily. "I've just decided to adopt a little Zen into my life." He mimed a meditation pose but wavered when part of his malasada broke off and hit the floor.

Kono punched him lightly in the arm, eliciting a sharp, "Ow!"

"Very zen," she winked.

…

(This was fun to write but does not at all reflect how disciplinary action would take place and I was too lazy to do more research, so I cut it.)

"McGarrett."

"I hope now is a good time?"

Glancing at the bullpen to be sure his team was occupied, Steve swiveled his chair away from the open blinds. "Yes, sir, Governor. What can I do for you, sir?"

"I'm glad you asked."

Although he'd known this moment was coming, Steve still couldn't help the uncomfortable knot that suddenly formed in his stomach. He stood abruptly and began to pace the room. If only he had known that ignoring the "No Trespassing" sign would have such consequences… but that was the point of this phone call. He had flaunted the rules. He knew better, and now it was time to pay the price. "What's the verdict, sir?"

"Well, that depends. Are you back on your feet?"

"Yes, sir."

"Your C/O from the Navy called and we discussed some options. It's an unusual case in that both Five-0 and the military had jurisdiction over certain aspects of this case, and we both have jurisdiction over you. Admiral Tully says he is more than happy to discipline your actions through the appropriate naval channels…However, since you were officially acting as a member of Five-0, and since we both feel any traditional disciplinary actions would be ineffective on you, we've decided to try something else."

Steve waited. After being paired with Grover several years ago, he had come to realize that Denning could be creative in discipline and rigid in his expectations. Whatever the consequences would be, he hoped it was something manageable and not overly embarrassing.

"We've decided that you seem to have trouble following the rules. You've been leading Five-0 for nearly 8 years now. You seem to have forgotten what it is like to work under someone and to have to obey their rules."

"Are you asking me to step down?"

"No, although you may need to do so temporarily. You're going to be doing some community service."

Volunteer work. Great. "Where?"

"Makapu'u Elementary School. You'll be working with their after-school care program. You can spend the mornings with Five-0, but I expect you to report to the school no later than 1 p.m."

"Yes sir."

But Denning wasn't finished. "This takes precedent, do you understand? I don't care if you have a case, or there's a nuclear bomb about to go off, or the whole Taliban is on the island wreaking havoc- let your team handle it and be at the school at one. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir." Very clear. "How long, sir?"

"You'll be there for one week starting Monday. After that, I'll see how things go."

Steve grimaced unhappily at the order, but he wasn't about to argue. "Yes sir. Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me yet. Children are experts at subverting, twisting, and bending the rules. I figured a little taste of your own medicine might do you some good. Just keep in mind, you can't interrogate a child or use any of your other methods that you think I don't know about. You'll be limited in what you can and cannot do to keep them in line."

"Yes sir." Like he would do any of that to a child. Except for Grace's boyfriend, of course.

"You'll be working under one of the teachers at the school. I expect you to follow his or her every instruction to the letter."

"Yes sir."

"Don't mess this up."

"I won't, sir."

There was a pause and Steve sensed a slight hesitation on the other end. "I hope you learn something from this little vacation. Good luck, Commander."

"Thank you, sir."

A few more scenes coming soon. I'm thinking my Cockroach story will be next.