Chapter 6:
After parking and stepping out of the truck, Steve and Danny walked together into the building. They walked inside down some hallways and through some arches.
"We have Grace this weekend, remember?" Danny asked.
"Of course, I do! I'm so excited to see her!" Steve smiled.
Danny chuckled. "What do you want to do with her this weekend?"
"I was thinking bowling."
"Bowling?"
"She liked it last time we went. And it's been a while. . .so. . ."
Danny smiled as Steve held the door open for him as Danny walked through it. "Alright. We'll go bowling." He nodded.
Steve smiled. "Great. How much paper work do you have today?" They walked into Steve's office, just off the entrance.
"Um. . .maybe an hour's worth? If we don't gain more today." Danny sighed out as the door closed behind him and he turned to see Steve set some things on his desk.
Steve turned and faced him, leaning against his desk. "Need any help on it?"
Danny gazed upon his husband. His arms were folded across his chest, his brows raised in expectancy. Danny smiled as he saw the twinkle in the hazel eyes he loved so much.
"No. I'm fine." Danny walked closer to where Steve leaned against his desk.
"Okay. I'll check on you in a bit, okay?" Steve asked as Danny lightly touched the man's arm.
"Okay." Danny dropped his hand and went to walk out, but stopped. He turned back to Steve.
He looked like he wanted to say something to Steve. Steve waited with raised eyebrows. He watched as Danny looked behind him around the office. "Where are the cousins?"
Steve furrowed his eyebrows. "You know, I don't know. I'll call them in a bit if they haven't shown up."
Danny smiled lightly at him. "Okay. Later, babe."
"Later." Steve grinned as he watched Danny turn and walk to his office.
Steve let out a sigh of content. Everything wasn't fixed, but everything felt a lot better than it did. Steve turned to sit at his desk and went to work.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kono walked next to Chin as they headed to the doors of HQ. "Do you think it worked? Last night, I mean."
Chin smiled. "I don't know. I hope so. You saw the way Steve glued himself to Danny's side last night. Danny didn't even reject it. So, let's hope for good results."
Kono chuckled as she walked through the door Chin held open.
"And if they're not. . .I don't know. We need to figure out something else." Chin said as they walked.
Kono stayed quiet as she walked next to him.
Chin noticed this. "Kono? What's wrong?"
Kono shrugged. "I don't want to admit it. . .but, have you ever thought that maybe they just. . .aren't in love anymore?"
Chin stopped and grabbed her arm, making her stop as well. Kono stared with a sadness in her eyes. "Have you?" He asked.
Kono shrugged again. "I've considered it. It makes me sad."
"Then don't think that." Chin smiled at her. "I saw the way they looked at each other last night. There's something there still."
"You think?" Kono asked.
Chin nodded. "For sure. How about we go find out for sure."
Kono smiled at him and followed him as he walked into their general office area.
They walked into a view that eased their troubled thoughts for their friends.
Danny and Steve stood next to each other, hovering over the tech table. Their sides brushed against each other as Steve reached to Danny's side of the screen and dragged something to the middle of the table. Danny touched Steve's arm and took what he had just dragged to a different section in the middle. Steve nodded as he pointed and spoke in a low voice to Danny. He and Danny met each other's gaze and smiled at each other as they nodded and continued to speak to each other.
Kono and Chin glanced at each other and grinned. They turned back to the couple and their insides turned to mush when they saw Steve drop his head down in laughter and then when Danny said something else, he lifted his head back up with more laughter as Danny chuckled and shook his head.
Chin and Kono smiled once more at each other. Chin turned back to them. "Hey, guys."
Danny and Steve turned to them and both smiled widely. "Hey." They both answered in unison.
"Mind us asking what the laughter is about?" Chin asked.
"Our sick sense of humor." Danny said with a grin.
Chin chuckled as did Kono. "Alright, enough with the laughs. What do we have?" Kono asked, putting herself in gear for the case.
Steve looked back to the table and tapped on the screen to bring up the case. "24 year old Michael Howard was found dead in a nearby harbor today."
"Cause of death was determined as O.D. on Ketamine." Danny added.
"Why are we interested in his death?" Kono asked.
Danny swiped the screen to bring the image to large screens displayed in front of the tech table. "We have reason to believe that his death is related to a series of murders that have come up in our system. Kill method is different. Victim types are different. Places our victims were at before they were murdered are different. But, they have all had the same dumping spot. This particular harbor."
Steve swiped the picture of the harbor to the larger computer screens.
"Pier 19." Kono murmured.
"Isn't that area kinda high traffic? I mean, that dock is open to the public for ferry rides. The killer would have had to had dumped these bodies at a point where no one would've been at the docks." Chin thought out loud.
"Someone must've seen something. That area is high traffic. We have people coming in and out for ferry rides. We have cleaning crew everyday going in and cleaning the dock and the ferry. We have a few food stands and little trinket stands out by the parking lot. Security at night. . .I don't see how they could manage to do this without being seen. . .or being seen as suspicious." Danny said.
"Okay, let's look into workers, owners, maybe even past employees. We may find something there." Steve said looking at his team. They nodded in agreement. "Okay, Kono. I think Max has more information on the body that was found 3 days ago. Do you want to cover that?"
Kono nodded as she looked at the screen. She nodded at the notification that popped up. "Yeah, I can get that analysis from Charlie as well."
Steve looked at the little window that stated that the lab had results. "Awesome, that'd be good. Thank you." Steve nodded to her. "Chin, would you create a list of possible suspects? Find out who was there at the approximate time of the dumping. Also, let's see if their cameras were up and running. Last time, they weren't but let's see if they took the time to get new wiring."
Chin nodded. "I'll get started with the cameras." He said as he turned and pulled out his phone.
Steve turned to Danny. "Wanna go question some witnesses?"
Danny grinned at him. "Of course. Let's go. You drive."
Steve grinned as he followed after him out to the car.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Oh, god." Steve sighed out as he laid himself on the bed, pulling the covers over his body. They were back at home after a very long day of pulling evidence, questioning witnesses, and looking over camera footage.
"You okay?" Danny asked as he slid in next to Steve, turning off his bedside lamp.
"Yeah, just. . .sore, tired and. . ." Steve chuckled. "Tired."
Danny turned to face Steve. "Yeah, me too. Works been crazy, huh?"
Steve nodded and turned to face him. "Oh, yeah."
Danny smiled. He snuggled closer to Steve, placing his forehead against Steve's. "Good work, today."
Steve grinned. "You too." He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.
Danny smiled at Steve's weariness. His lips twitched as he planted them against Steve's.
Steve grinned as he moved his lips along Danny's.
They broke after a few soft moments and looked into each other's eyes. Danny chuckled as he placed another quick kiss to Steve's lips. "I love you, Steve."
Steve smiled. "I love you, too, Danny."
They took in a few breaths before falling asleep.