a/n: I'm breaking from my usual Danny/Steve POV switch up because this is actually a continuation from the last chapter and I really wanted this to be from Danny's POV. I am annoyed, but I'll live.

Danny could see the lot from where he sat with the rest of Five-0 in the beach-front bar. He brought a beer bottle to his lips, smiled when he heard the others laugh, though he hadn't heard the joke. He was not nervous. Nope. Why the hell would he be nervous? Drinks with the Team, just like normal. Catching up with an old friend and his Navy buddies. Except that he knew Steve didn't actually want to be here. He hadn't said anything like that, of course. In fact, everything he'd done and said in the hour they'd spent at HQ was evidence to the contrary. But Danny knew, okay? He knew Steve wanted to be anywhere but Hawaii, or at least anywhere but with Five-0. He wondered if he'd find out the whole story.

He also kinda wondered if he'd actually get to chat with Steve alone or if Steve would avoid him. He saw a dark SUV pull up, three big guys got out, from the passenger and back seats and started making their way in. A couple of minutes later, the doors opened again and two more guys came around from the driver's side. The lights flashed as the McGarrett-shaped driver hit the lock on the fob.

"Williams!"

"Whoa, whoa. Why the yelling?" Danny holding his hands up, one still holding the half empty beer bottle, and turned to the source of his name. "What, Lou?"

He looked from Lou to Kono to Chin and did not like the grin on the Hawaiian's face.

"You... nervous, brah?"

Danny grimaced, scoffed. "No. Why would I be nervous?" Chin just raised an eyebrow; Danny sighed. "Look, that animal left his family six months ago with barely a word and he didn't plan on ever coming back."

"Danny, you don't know that." Kono reached across Chin to touch his arm.

"No, I do, in fact know. He left pretty much everything to Grace and I, like he was already dead. All that shit that he was hanging on to, just because it belonged to his parents."

"What do you mean, Danny? I thought you were house sitting while he was gone."

Danny looked toward the entrance. The SEALs were almost at their table. "Yeah, well, I've got some pretty legit legal documents that say different." Danny never told anyone about the package Steve had left him, or the letters and gifts Steve had given Grace. "Next time you come by the house, check out Gracie's room. I didn't do any of that shit in there. Steve did it before he left. And he's only back because he was ordered here on an Op. Guess I'm wondering exactly how this is gonna go down."

In the next instant, he was a completely different person, smiling and waving over Jake and the two SEALs he was with. Steve and the fifth man were a few yards out.

An hour later, the SEALs had tried to impress Five-0 with war stories – unclassified, of course. They'd succeeded, although none of the Task Force members would admit it. Five-0 told a few of their own stories which also impressed the SEALs, although they were more willing to give their praise. Steve had remained uncharacteristically quiet, and barely touched his beer. He laughed when appropriate, contributed to the conversation when required. Maybe no one else at the table even noticed there was any difference.

But Danny did.

And McGarrett kept checking his damn watch.

The group's attention was focused on the other side of the table and Danny leaned over to the man sitting next to him.

"You develop some kinda OCD about your watch while you were gone or something, huh?"

"What?" He looked at his watch, seemed to realize what he was doing, and looked back up to Danny. "Oh."

Danny touched his elbow. "You good?"

"Yeah, uh. Actually. I'll be right back." He whistled across the table, catching the attention of Lieutenant Tom Johnson. "Hey Johnson, need your help back at the vehicle for a sec."

Danny thought he might have seen a flicker of relief cross across his features, but it's not like he'd even seen the guy before tonight to know for sure.

"Yeah, sure, McGarrett."

"Aw, c'mon now, boss. You're gonna make him miss the show," Kono whined.

"'Boss', Kono, really? I'm crushed."

Danny saw Kono smirk out of the corner of his eye, but his attention was on the SEALs. Even the three not involved in the conversation had gone quiet for a minute.

"Sorry, new boss."

Five-0 continued on like nothing happened. Danny and the SEALs watched Steve and Tom leave. The SEALs went back to the conversation until the fireworks started. Danny did not. Then the colourful explosions danced in the air to the oohs and aahs of those in the bar, and Danny couldn't remember ever thinking about how much they sounded like machine gun fire and bombs. He did this time.

Fifteen minutes later, the show was over but Steve and Tom weren't back yet. He looked out at the lot, but the SUV seemed dark. He looked around him and no one else seemed to notice. Maybe a little part of him – okay, maybe not so little – didn't want to talk to Steve alone. And yes, okay, he did feel a bit guilty about that. But he also really did need to talk to him and he had the feeling something was wrong. He finished off his beer and rose from the table.

His eyes swept the bar, the hall. He was about to look out in the lobby when he saw Tom leave the men's room. He looked exhausted, much more so than before he and Steve left the group.

"Hey, uh, everything all right?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure thing, Danny, thanks. Just heading back to the party."

Danny nodded and waited for him to disappear before entering the room. It was bright and clean and seemed to be empty aside from the guy splashing water on his face.

"Everything all right, babe?" Danny asked as he pulled a couple paper towels from the dispenser and handed them over.

"Thanks." Steve took them, straightened, turned around to lean against the counter next to Danny, and wiped the towels across his face before wading them up and tossing them into the trash.

"Seriously, Steven, you look like shit." He let out a half-hearted huff of a laugh and Danny followed suit. Then Steve grew serious. He turned to the side just enough to look down at Danny. The Detective looked up at him and wondered if this – getting Steve to open up – would be even harder after their little separation.

"Ya wanna maybe talk about it?"

"Yeah. Yes. Let's get a drink." 'Cause, you know, we weren't doing that before, Danny thought to himself.

They headed back inside, but grabbed a couple of stools at the end of the bar.

"Tom okay?" Danny asked as they waited for their beer. "He looked a bit shook up."

"Yeah, he'll be fine."

"Like, 'fine' fine, or 'SEAL' fine?" Steve looked at him as their beer was put in front of them. A look that clearly said drop it. Danny did; he didn't actually care about Tom right now anyway. He cared about Steve and whatever happened in the fifteen minutes the two men had been gone hadn't been very easy on him, either. Fifteen minutes that was perfectly timed for them to be alone during the fireworks that sounded to Danny like bombs and guns.

Oh.

Maybe it was selfish of him, but Danny really hoped Tom was the one who'd needed the break. He wanted to ask, wondered if Steve would tell him the truth if he did. Maybe if this hadn't basically been the first time they'd seen each other in so long, he'd try.

Danny cleared his throat, drank some of his beer. "So. Doris, huh?"

Steve sighed and drained half the beer. "Yeah."

"You know, she stopped by the house a while back. Met Grace."

Steve winced. "Sorry, man. Didn't think she'd ever come back."

"Well, I think she came back because she heard you were gone. Didn't hear that someone else was living in her house." He saw Steve smile a genuine smile at that. "Gotta say, it felt real good to be able to kick her out of her own house."

Steve tipped his bottle in his direction. "Happy to help."

"So, wanna tell me what happened?"

Taking a long drink from the bottle first, Steve sighed and began. "She came to see me last week. No fucking idea why, of course. She never did tell me. But you know her, even if she did, who knows if it would be the truth. Anyway, you'da been proud of me. Well, you and a moody teenaged girl. I told her everything I thought about her. Told her she ruined my life. Realized some shit about myself I hate, but clearly not enough to do anything about. Then she thought she could give me advice. Told me I should come back to Hawaii."

Danny brought the bottle to his lip to hide his shock that, for once, he actually agreed with Doris. "And here you are."

"Yeah. Here I am. Wake up the next morning and my CO's bringing me in to tell me about this Op. Said the Intel came from the CIA, but that was it. But it had to be Doris. Tried to convince him it wasn't a good idea. Told him to send someone else and to keep you guys out of it, but... fucking politics. And I'm the one that's got the in with the Governor and his Task Force and we have been the ones tracking them."

"For six months."

The SEAL shrugged. "More or less. Just came back from a shitstorm in a dustier part of the world, but yeah. Mostly we're dealing with South American drug cartels."

"That was the second condition, wasn't it?"

Steve didn't say anything for a while, just nursed his beer. Finally, he nodded. Danny's voice begins to rise when he speaks again. "Is that why you left, Steven? To chase after my problems that were already done and buried? Cause if so, I'm suddenly angry at you again."

"No. That's not why I left. It was just a bonus. I left because I needed to go back, because I was done here."

Danny finished off his beer and put his hand on Steve's shoulder. The anger that had started to build, disappearing. He really, really hated when Steve did that.

"You weren't done here, babe. Hopefully one day you realize that." Steve finished off his own beer and then nods.

"Let's head back." Danny didn't complain, he knew Steve had dug up more emotional shit than he was usually comfortable with. He couldn't ask for more tonight. He just wanted to enjoy the rest of a night out with his best friend.

Back at the table, they settled into their seats. Lou gave them a look.

"You ladies work out all your marital issues?"

"Yeah, Lou, we're good. Hey, you guys tell 'em about the time Danny strapped that guy to the roof of the Camaro?"