Disclaimer - I don't own Hawaii Five-O. If I did, Steve McGarrett would be shirtless all the time. And they wouldn't be covering up any of AOL's tattoos. I'm just toying with the characters for a while.

Thank you all again for reading this story. I am overwhelmed by not only the reviews, but by everyone who has made this story a favorite or an alert.

Present Day

The bottle of whiskey was half gone before Danny worked up the courage to ask the question he desperately needed answered and Steve steeled himself to give it. In the end, Steve decided to spare his best friend the agony.

"The day I killed Trainor," he replied quietly.

"Yeah," Danny answered, his voice barely above a whisper.

(Flashback - Three weeks after Claire's birthday)

Danny's phone rang in his pocket and he yanked it out before stabbing the green Accept button. "Detective Williams."

Steve cast a glance over at Danny before returning his eyes to the road. "Ray Ellis?" Danny asked the caller, his eyebrows knit in complete confusion. "It's 10 a.m. Why would someone rob…he's been SHOT? Okay, really, that's the kind of information you're supposed to LEAD with!"

Steve flipped on the lights and sirens and did an illegal u-turn in the middle of the highway and hit the gas in the hopes of getting to Ray's downtown bar as quickly as possible. As he reached 70 mph, his phone rang. He pressed the button on the steering wheel for the bluetooth and answered while still attempting to listen to Danny's conversation. "McGarrett."

"Commander, it's Governor Denning. I got a call from NCIS. They need your help recovering an escaped inmate from Leavenworth."

Steve felt the hairs on his arm stand up. "Leavenworth?" he asked thickly.

"An Ensign Todd Trainor. Convicted 10 years ago in the murder of his wife, Bethany Trainor."

The phone Danny was holding clattered against the center console. "Commander?" Denning said.

Each man watched as the blood completely drained out of his partner's face. "COMMANDER?" Denning said again.

"Governor, Todd Trainor is the biological father of Claire Ellis' son Cooper," Steve explained slowly, hardly believing the words spilling out of his mouth.

Silence answered him as the Governor processed the information. A moment later, they heard the Governor say quietly, "Oh my God…"

Steve disconnected the call and looked over at his partner. "DANNY!" he yelled.

When Danny looked over at him, his eyes were clouded in fear. "Danny," he said again, "get Claire on the phone."

"Coop," Danny finally said as his instincts kicked back in. "We gotta get Cooper."

Steve waited for Kono to answer her cell. "Hey Boss," she said sweetly.

"Kono, we got a problem. Todd Trainor escaped from custody and is on the island. He's gonna be looking for Claire and Cooper. Ray has been shot and it has to be Trainor."

"Where do you want us?" Kono asked.

"Danny's getting a 20 on Claire. Chin stays with her. You go to the bar and stay with Ray. I'm dropping Danny at Coop's school. He'll need backup…"

"EMT is already at the bar, unis on the way to the school."

"Clarie's not answering her cell or at the office," Danny said quietly.

Steve ran a hand down his face and swallowed hard before shaking his head to rid himself of the nausea threatening to overtake him. "Kono, we're gonna need HPD SWAT at the office…"

TBC...