Oh, if I owned the rights... Dang CBS because the guys are theirs...

Time from then on flew by. Grace and Kono were deep into the planning of the clothes and the decorations with Danny's mum and Grace's aunts in New Jersey. 'Thank God for Skype!' Danny thought to himself. 'Who knew wedding planning long distance would be so complicated?'

Before they realized it, it was the middle of May already and they were getting their new suits tailored and readied to be sent on ahead to New Jersey. Danny had taken to rising when Steve did to sneak off to Kamekona's cousin's home where she had a lap pool. He was serious about swimming off a few stubborn pounds and being at his very fittest for the wedding. He gave up malasadas and a lot of his favorite sweet treats until the wedding and was eating a lot of salads and lean meats, something Steve approved of whole heartedly.

Danny had taken to hitting the pool four times a week. Never once told Steve where he was going or what he was doing so, when he kept disappearing and coming home tired, Steve followed him one day to see what he was up to.

Danny was getting a tighter six pack and his legs were becoming leaner. He found that, with all the hard swimming he was doing, he had more stamina and could almost outrun the criminals he was chasing on the streets. Steve saw him dive into this pool and heard the unmistakable laughter of Kamekona and a female (FEMALE?!) as Danny swam. He raced her the length of the pool and stopped when she finished ahead of him.

He slapped the water and said, "Now, I know Miko, that you were an Olympic hopeful 12 years ago but, I should be doing better than I am against you, right?"

Miko said, "Danny, quit being so hard on yourself! You have lost inches and you have gained more sexy muscle. Your work ethic is to be commended! Just because you can't beat me doesn't mean that you aren't fast. I bet you could beat anyone on your task force in a straight race in here. You are that good."

Steve could not hide the scoff on his face. He knew he could swim circles around Danny any day of the week. He thought Miko was about 15 years older than Danny and she was hitting on him. Thing that made him smile was that Danny was ignoring her 'hitting on technique'. That made him feel confident in his love for his Jersey Man.

He quickly slipped home and waited for Danny to come home from his 'errand'. Danny arrived a half hour after Steve and was very tired. He said, "I need a nap. Want to join me, Steve? Just for a cuddle and some sleep, though. I'm exhausted!"

Steve climbed the stairs to their room and saw Danny stripping off his clothes and let out a low whistle. "Damn, Danno! What are you up to?"

"Why? Why do you need to know?"

"I just noticed that you look GOOD! I love what you're doing and I think you even look sexier than the first night I saw you naked."

Danny smiled at this comment. "Thanks, Steven. I am trying to get in better shape because my hot fiancée is a SEAL and I want to look good for him on at our wedding ceremony."

Steve grinned. "You don't need to change a thing for me, Danno. I love you as you are."

The next day was a Friday so, Danny invited Kono, Chin and Steve to Miko's house and told them all what he was up to. "I've been swimming here trying to build up my stamina and add some muscle. I was told by my trainer, Miko, that I should be ready to challenge you guys to two lap races and maybe even beat you. You down for a race against me?"

Kono and Chin said at the same time, "We're down for a race!" Kono adding, "Bossman? You down for a race against Danny? Could be fun."

Steve grinned. "Oh, I am so ready for a race against you, Jersey. Bring it on."

The four of them changed into swimming gear and dove into the pool to get acclimated to the water. Then, they lined up at the edge of the pool and readied for the race. Miko said, "Now, this is a two lap race. Try to do a flip turn at the far wall and go for speed! On your mark! Get set! GO!"

They all pushed off the wall and were evenly matched until they came up for air. Danny was doing his best to kick under water hard. Kono, Chin and Danny came up for air at the halfway point in the pool and began the crawl for the far wall. Steve was still under water and not doing the strokes actually made him slower than his teammates. He pushed for the surface and began to catch up fast. Danny made it to the wall and executed the kick turn perfectly and pushed for home at a very good speed with Miko shouting encouragement at him the whole way. She wanted her protégé to win, no doubt about it.

"Come on, Danny! Move those legs. KICK! Paddle! I want to see that butt of yours bouncing in the water!"

Danny was blowing Chin and Kono away but, Steve was gaining speed and in the last 25 meters, he was running neck and neck with Danny. His competitive streak kicked in hardcore and he was cutting through the water making up ground on his lover. Danny hit the finish and saw Steve nail the wall immediately after he did. Danny won. This was unbelievable to him! How did he win this race? Steve was a SEAL!

"How did I win against you, SuperSEAL? You are stronger than I am!"

Steve was actually gasping for breath. "I dunno, Danno. But, I demand a rematch! I think that kickturn was rigged!"

Kono and Chin weren't really racing against Danny and Steve so they weren't too upset to finish third and fourth, respectively. "Chin and I are gonna sit out this rematch. You are on your own, Steve. Think you can beat him again, Danny? I'll bet you $50 that you can take him again."

Chin agreed and said, "I have money on Steve to pull through this time."

Danny grinned and said, "Thanks for the faith in my abilities, Kono. Steve you wanna a rematch? Bring it on!"

They lined up again and Miko sent them on the way. She was impressed with his speed and said, "I've been working with him for four weeks. He has improved every week. I used to be an Olympic hopeful. He can't beat me yet but, he is getting close. Unless Steve has been racing like Danny has been, he will not win. Danny's kickturn is his key to victory. Compact legs and a hell of a push off!"

Danny won again and it was not as close as it was the first time. Danny was excited! He hopped out of the pool and hugged Miko. "That was WICKED! I beat my SEAL in a race! Twice! Thank you for training me! You are the best!"

Kono and Chin loved seeing Danny so happy. It was a rare thing to see Steve beaten in anything and, by Danny-even rarer! Steve slapped the water and said, "How did you do that? We were even till the turn for home and he blew past me like I was dead stopped."

Miko smiled and said, "I taught him how to use his size against anyone taller than him in the pool. His shorter legs give him an explosion of speed off the wall. You cannot compete against his legs. He is gorgeous in the water." Steve gasped and sputtered. "Oh, relax, Steve. He loves you. I just showed him how to swim stronger in a pool. I think you have him beat in the ocean. After all, you are a SEAL. You don't do rescues in a pool-those are in open water!"

Chin gave Kono her $50. She, in turn, gave it to Danny and said, "Take Steve out to dinner and make up this loss to him. He looks shocked that he lost to you."

On the drive home, Steve was not angry that he lost. He was impressed with Danny's swimming and how hard he worked to get stronger and faster. And, he had to admit, he was looking at Danny's butt as he was swimming in the next lane and wanted to reach out and yank his trunks down. But, he couldn't admit that to ANYONE! "Danno, let's go out for dinner. Since you just got $50, let's go to that new steak place on the North Shore, your treat." He flashed that clothes-dropping smile of his that worked on anyone in sight of it most of the time.

Danny just flashed him his sexiest smile in return. He knew that smile was his signal to Steve that he loved him and wanted him. "Anything you want, Steve. I can't believe I beat you in a lap race. You should've won, easy. Were you distracted by anything?"

Steve looked at his feet. He sighed and mumbled, "Yourasswastoohot."

Danny said, "Come again, SEAL?"

Steve smirked and said, "Your ass was too hot. I was looking at it as it went by and I lost. I'm not upset. I got to see you swim and your ass is gorgeous in the water, Jersey. I want you so badly right now."

Danny sighed. "Food first and then, we can get a room up on the Shore and have fun afterward, OK?"

"You have a deal, Jersey!"

Dinner on the North Shore was fun and easy. A nice Italian place Danny found when he was out wandering with Grace one day. They have the best Cannoli he has found in Hawaii-limoncello! The best! He offered Steve a taste. "Come on, Super SEAL, you have to admit this tastes amazing!"

Steve tried it and was not impressed. "Danno, this is just OK. I like Tiramisu and biscotti much better than this limoncello cannoli thing."

"Steven! This is my very favorite dessert and you don't like it?! I've tried pineapple upside down cake, pineapple popsicles, and grilled pineapple for you. Honestly, this is way better than any of those things and you don't like it? I'm hurt. I even got the recipe for the limoncello cream so I could surprise Grace by making cannoli for her. You have to eat at least one for me in front of her. Do NOT pull a face when you eat it or Grace will not be the only Williams upset with you…"

Steve said, "Well, maybe if you make it for Grace and you put love into it, I may like it better. It is maybe too sweet for me, I think."

Danny smiled and knew Steve would NEVER let Grace down. He planned to make the cannoli as a special treat for Memorial Day and their big ohana party. They have fireworks all over the island for the day since it remembers the service men and women that gave their lives for the country. He planned to make them as a trial run or two to perfect the recipe for Steve and his family and since Steve was there, he would be the perfect guinea pig for tasting the trials. He had to call his mother and ask her to help him find a cannoli shell maker. She put him in contact with an Italian bakery in her Newark neighborhood and he scored a cannoli maker and a filler so, he was free to experiment.

His first attempt at the cannoli he brought into the office. He did take into account that Steve said they were too sweet at the restaurant so, he cut the sugar in the cannoli cream by a quarter of a cup. He tried the cream and deemed it satisfactory. He made up a couple dozen cannolis and brought them in.

When he arrived in the office, Kono smelled the pastries and said, "Ooh, Danny! What did you make? Can I have one? Please?"

"Where's Steve at? I'd kind of like him to try one of these from the initial trial run."

Steve and Chin came into the bullpen just as Danny asked the question. "Hey, Danno. Whatcha got there?" Steve opened the box and ever so slightly moaned. "Cannoli, huh? This is the first batch? And, you need tasters. Hope these are better than the restaurant ones."

Chin smiled and said, "Danny? You made these? OK, should we have Poison Control on standby? You know, just in case?"

Danny huffed. "You don't know I can cook. You get a pass. Steve KNOWS I can cook. He has to try one and tell me if I did OK or not. If he knows what is good for him, he'll try one for me. If not…."

Kono smirked. "It won't be good for him later!"

Steve glared at her and then, smiled gently at Danny. He took the cannoli and after sniffing it, took a bite and moaned, "Oh, Danny. This is better than the restaurant by far! Not as sickeningly sweet. I think you got it right with this recipe. I think it's a hit."

Danny grinned as Kono took a bite of her own cannoli. "Um, I like it but, could you do them with pineapple? I would love a pineapple flavored one of these!"

Danny fumed a bit. "Well, Kono, I would do something like that IF this was a Hawaiian dish. It's NOT, though. It is ITALIAN. Limoncello is an Italian cream and cannoli are Italian food so, NO I will not do a pineapple cream for cannoli! Sacrilege, I swear it! How could you want to mess up an Italian delicacy like a cannoli with pineapple! You, my friend, have no concept of history, of the effort it takes to make these bits of heaven, of the traditions you stomp on when you even suggest pineapple in my favorite dessert! Steve, back me up on this one, please?"

Steve laughed under his breath. Kono smiled but, she really did want Danny to make her pineapple cannoli. "Kono, it will never happen. Let it go. Danno likes the limoncello. I think it is very good. You did what I suggested and made them with love and knocked back the sugar and made them perfecto. That's right, huh, Danno? Italian for perfect?"

Danny ruffled the back of Steve's hair and said, "Yeah, Steven. You got it correct. Il mio amore, Steve!"

Steve blushed. He was taking Italian lessons with Danny very seriously. He wanted to talk to Danny's Italian relatives and most of them only spoke Italian at home. He loved Danny that much. Danny was trying to learn Pidgin for him so he could talk to native Hawaiians in their language as well so, he could show Steve he loved him that much as well. It was yet another example of how they were meshing their lives and showing their love to their partner.

Kono asked, "So, what's that mean, Steve? Why are you blushing like a girl?"

Steve smirked and said, "Ask Danno." as he ran into his office and shut the door, locking it.

Kono turned to Danny and asked, "Well, Danny? What does il mio amore mean?"

Chin didn't ask. Nope. He looked it up on the Language Translator on the big computer and grinned as he got the translation. "Aw, Danny. That is so romantic? Mind if I use that line on Leilani? She would love that one!"

Danny grinned and said, "Sure, Chin. You can borrow my Smooth Dog line if you want to. Kono, it means 'my love' in Italian. Steve, if you don't have that door unlocked by the time I get to it, you are going to be missing Danno time!"

Steve unlocked his office door and pulled Danny inside, locking it once he was in the frame. He pinned Danny to the door and kissed him hard, wet, and very dirty. "Danno,il mio amore! Grazie! Multo multo grazie!" He nuzzled into Danny's neck and softly moaned. He whispered what he wanted to do to Danny and said, "Can we leave early today? I have to be alone with you!"

Danny smiled and said, "But, Steven, we have to catch bad guys today. That is what we are paid to do. If we did half of what you just whispered in my ear, we would never get that done! It's only Tuesday. We can knock off early on Friday if there are no major cases pending. I promise I am ready, willing and oh, so able to work on that 'To Do List' of yours then. Right now, we have paperwork and chasing down leads to bad guys in the high-end theft case we are working on. You know, the art theft was just the tip of the lava flow. We need to catch the break in artists now."

Meanwhile, in Honolulu, a pair of ninja-like thieves weave their way over the roof of the Honolulu Museum of Fine Art. As they leapt over the rooftops looking for a vent to get into the building, the females found a vent big enough to crawl through and attached a blue nylon string to the entrance to find their way out and began to map out the vent system. They finished around dawn and made their way back, down the building and away in the night. Phase one was complete.

Calls from the museums and art galleries of the islands began to pour in to HPD. The trouble was that the cameras were disabled from inside the walls of the places and the thieves only took the jewelry from the cases-not the Renoirs and Monets from the walls that were clearly more expensive than the baubles they did make off with. They left no fingerprints and no traces of even being there to commit the crimes which was baffling the Robbery Division of the HPD so, they asked for help from 5-0 to see if they could shake a new clue or two loose from the ether.

Danny and Steve interviewed the museum and gallery curators and discovered that all of the robberies occurred between midnight and sunrise the next day. Steve noticed the dust was disturbed around the ventilation shaft in one of the galleries and, when he climbed up the ladder and confirmed his suspicions, he found a tiny piece of blue line caught on one of the screws in the shaft. He smiled triumphantly. "Danno, this is how our thieves are committing the crimes! The vents. They crawl in and disable the security cameras from in here! Now all we have to do is catch them in the act and we stop the thefts!"

Danny said, "Great work, Super SEAL! But now, we need a fingerprint or a picture of the criminals to find them and arrest them. How do we get that when they used the vents and left no prints?"

Steve got a gleam in his eye. "Easy, Danno. You go up in the vent and see if they left any other evidence up there. We can give you a red cord to tie to your foot and you can use it to find your way back to me, OK?"

"IS this a crack at my height or my size? Cuz, if it is…."

Steve huffed. "Just climb in there and see what you can find and take pictures so we can collect evidence. I think your size is a huge asset in this case and you are making a big issue out of nothing." Steve whispered into Danny's ear, "No one who has seen you naked could ever make the crack that you are small, Danno. You are MY perfect size and that is all I dream about all the time! Now, get in there and find us a lead, mi amore!"

Danny accepted Steve's boost into the ventilation shaft and crawled up to the first bend in the system. The string tied to his ankle was rolling off the spool as it should and Steve watched his progress on the camera on Danny's hat. When Danny got to the sight of the theft, he spotted a drop of blood in the vent leading to the room where the jewelry cases were. He collected a swab of it and put it in a plastic test tube for Charlie and Max to run tests on. He lowered himself down to the ground and looked around. He noticed a plant moved and, when he moved it back to the dents in the carpeting, he noticed a shoe print on the rug from the dust in the shaft. He took a photo of it and sent it to Charlie Fong in the Forensic Lab for analysis. He called Steve on the cell phone and said, "I'm inside the Jewel Room. I found a footprint and took a partial fingerprint from the rim of a potted plant in here as well. I hope this helps us catch these criminals because I am covered in dust from that shaft! Ah-ah-ah-CHOO!"

Steve laughed. It was the first time he had heard Danny sneeze and he thought it was adorable! "Benedica il mio amore. I think that was the cutest sneeze I have ever heard! Come on out and we can go over the evidence you collected. Maybe we can get a lead on who these thieves are."

The evidence Danny had gotten from the gallery had shown that the team was looking for at least one female suspect based on the blood droplet's DNA profile. According to Max, she had to be agile and about Danny's height to be able to slip into the ventilations systems of the places that had been hit so far.

The thieves had gotten bolder in their last few break-ins, though. They had taken not only all of the jewelry but now, they were taking the gold and silver objects as well. They had made off with close to a million in stolen artifacts and the Governor was starting to put not too subtle pressure on 5-0 to catch the criminals and bring back the stolen items to their rightful museums and galleries.

Steve was feeling the stress of having to contend with both the Governor and the press breathing down his neck as the thefts became more brazen and expensive. He was trying to hold it together for the team's sake but, at home, Danny saw the cracks in his persona and how hard it was for him to tackle this same case day after day. When Steve had yet another status update meeting with the Governor to discuss new leads and theories, Danny grabbed Chin and Kono and pulled them into his office to try to come up with a next likely place the thieves would strike. They had it narrowed down to two locations that had, so far, not been hit by theft-the Hawaiian Museum of Fine Art and the Kameahmeah Gallery of Classical Art. Both were downtown and within the perimeter of the theft zone. Both also had new pieces of jewelry arriving by the end of the week for exhibit the following month. Seems the thieves had left a calling card of sorts-they only stole the jewelry as the run of its showing came to a close. Danny popped his head up and said, "That's it! That is our lead! They case the places they hit and plan the thefts which is why they are so methodical in their planning. We have to act like the thieves. We have to watch the Museum and the Gallery and see if anyone visits more than a few times and observe their behaviors for signs that they are taking measurements and scoping out the security systems. Then we can catch the thieves and solve this case and get the Governor and the press off our backs!"

When Danny told Steve of his plan, Steve was so impressed he picked Danny up and spun him around in a big embrace and kissed him soundly on the lips. "Danno, don't ever quit law enforcement! You think too much like a criminal when you get all devious like that!"

"Why? If I was to commit a crime, I'd end up being handcuffed to the chair in the Interrogation Room, probably by you, Steven. You could have your way with me and I bet you think you could crack me. I think not. Your Army training is no match for the New Jersey Police Academy!"

"Danno, it's the Navy! The Navy! Get it right for once. And, I know I could crack you. I have special skills to make you talk, Daniel Williams. You would spill your plans to me. I could do it. Wanna test me?"

Danny felt a bet and a challenge coming on. "Bring it on, Steven. Bring it on. I still have a few secrets you don't know…. You think I'll crack? We'll just see, McGarrett. We'll see."

"If I can crack you, I get to do anything I want to you for a week straight. If I lose, you can…."

"If you lose, I get to do the same to you and I get to pick the honeymoon spot for us. Oh, and I get to drive the Camaro for a month. You are gonna look cute on the passenger side of the car, Babe."

Steve looked smug. "You're on, Danno. You are SO on."

Danny and Steve had to lay out rules. They had to choose a person to judge the secrets. That was the easiest thing they had to do for this bet. They chose Chin. Kono was insanely curious and vowed she would find out the secrets and wait for the boys to come to her!

To that end, she began a surreptitious background check of each man and found out a few juicy things about Steve and Danny that she tucked away for further blackmailing purposes when she needed favors granted. She used Toast to run these searches because he could get in an out with no trace and all she had to do was spoil him with treats for a week straight for the intel. Chin noticed she was acting a bit too smug and called her on her smugness. All she said was Chin peaked her curiosity and it was not a good thing to do that and not expect a bit of revenge.

Chin pulled Danny aside and told him to be on his guard around Kono as she was on the hunt to find out what Chin knew that she didn't. "Is she digging into Steve's secrets as well?"

"Danny, just be on the lookout for Kono and her questions. She is worse than a pit bull with a bone when it comes to this bet of yours and Steve's. I would not be surprised if she figures the secrets just from a few well-placed questions and the way you answer."

Danny hated being on guard around Kono but, she was dangerous to his winning this bet and he wanted to win against Steve. This was a match of wits and he was going to win! It was only a week. If he found out Steve's secret by Saturday, he won. Piece of cake for a Detective, after all.

Steve, for his part was not above resorting to calling Danny's mum and dad for dirt on his Jersey Man. She sussed out his real reasons for asking about the Young Danny and only told stories that were not too embarrassing to Steve. While Steve was on the phone to his mum, Danny was on the phone to his dad and the parents were comparing notes and stories told. Belle held a note up to Michael saying 'Do NOT tell any stories that will embarrass Danny to Steve! He is fishing for dirt on our son for a crazy bet.' Michael held up a note saying 'Gotcha! Danny's secrets are safe with us!'

Steve was stumped with their answers to his simple questions about Danny's childhood. All he asked was about any childhood memories they could share about Danny and they clammed up fast. Danny! How did he get to them so fast? They only made this bet last night. He must have called them in the middle of the night after they had made love and Steve was out of it. 'That little stinker!', Steve thought to himself. 'Now, I have to REALLY dig into his childhood and find friends to grill on the sly. This just got a whole lot harder and a lot more interesting.'

Danny knew he really shouldn't go there. He really did. But, while Chin and Kono were checking and casing the Gallery and Museum for repeat visitors, he had nothing better to do. He went to see the one person who knew Steve from childhood-Doris McGarrett.

She opened the door and was shocked to see Danny there. "What can I do for you, Detective Williams?"

"Um, hi there, Mrs. McGarrett. Doris. I need a small favor. I need to know about a couple of stories about a younger Steve. He told me he has a few embarrassing stories and we have a bet riding on whether I can get a better one of his secrets than he gets from me. Can you help me out, please? I would take this as a personal favor and I would owe you a solid for any info you could give me."

She considered his offer and she sighed. "When Steve was a little boy, he was around five or six years old, he was in our room and I caught him in my closet in one of my pantsuits playing dress up. I have the only surviving photo of that day and, " she pulled it out of a photo album and handed it to Danny, "now, you have it. He looked adorable, right?"

Danny looked at the picture of him in the decidedly feminine pantsuit and smiled evilly to himself. "This. This is PERFECT, Doris. Thank you for this. I really appreciate the story behind this picture as well. If you need something, as long as it's legal, I will come through for you, I promise."

Doris smiled and said, "I will remember that, Detective. You're welcome."

Danny grinned and texted Steve 'I got dirt on you and it is VERY good dirt. I have this bet in the bag, Babe.'

Steve groaned as he had nothing to show for his searching and Danny had something on him. It had only been one day. ONE day! He had to tap an unknown entity to try for paydirt-Danny's sister, Margaret. He dialed the cell number and waited for the answer.

Margaret saw the number from Hawaii and answered, "Danny?"

Steve cleared his throat and said, "Um, no. Margaret, this is Steve McGarrett. Perhaps you have heard of me from Danny's parents?"

Margaret smiled at the deep voice on the other end of the phone. "Hi, there, Steve. I know who you are. You are the man who is in love with my big brother. What do I owe the honor of this phone call?"

Steve smiled into the phone. "I have a bet going with your brother. I need a story about his childhood-a good and juicy one. Can you give me something I can use to win this bet we have?"

Margaret smiled. "When Danny was a child, he climbed a tree to impress a girl, her name was Sally Christopher. She cheered him on to climb higher and, wouldn't you know, he got stuck in the tree. Ma had to call the Fire Department to rescue him because he was scared at how high he had really climbed. We have the newspaper clippings from that whole mess. I can email you pictures of them. You should have them in your phone right. About. Now." She clicked 'SEND' and Steve's phone beeped.

Steve had the info and he smiled his 'I have you now.' grin. "Margaret, you have no idea how much this helps me! You are my Info Angel! You rock. You know Danny and I are getting married in New Jersey in July, right? Please say you can make it to the ceremony-I want to meet my sister in law while I'm there."

"Of course I will be there! I want to meet the man who gets my big brother and loves him so much! I hope my juicy story helps you, Future Brother in Law!"

He hung up the phone and Steve texted Danny 'Just wait till Chin judges our stuff. I know I will win because I got some really good dirt on you, il mio amore!'