The phone rang a half dozen times before Joe answered, "Hello?"
"Joe…this is Danny. Where are you?"
"I'm not in Hawaii Danny. Why, is there a problem?"
He figured the best thing to do was just to say it, no mincing words, "Joe, it's Steve…there's been an accident"
"What kind of accident? Is he okay?"
Danny's voice tightened as again the words he spoke seemed unbelievable, "He's dead Joe"
"What? Oh my God, what happened Danny?"
Danny told him everything he knew and then Joe asked, "How is Doris?"
"Well, I don't know. She disappeared again Joe. A couple of weeks ago and we don't have a clue as to where she may be. I was hoping you would have heard from her"

"No, she hasn't called me at all…..I knew their reunion would take some time. They're two of the most stubborn people I've ever known. This is going to destroy her Danny….after all those years apart...and now..."

"Joe, I know Steve was happy she was alive but he was torn Joe. It was hard on him"
"We never wanted to hurt him Danny, that was never our intent. I loved that boy like he was my own, you know that"
"And he loved you too Joe but he felt betrayed by both of you"
"I understand that. That's why I left...…he needed time. They needed time together"
Danny choked out the words, "And now it's over…..he's gone"
Joe spoke quietly, "I'll do my best to find her Danny. I'll be in touch"
They hung up the phone and both men cried. They cried for Steve and for Doris and for everything that had been lost between them. And they cried for their own loss, the loss of a son and a brother.

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He sat and stared out at the Ocean not hearing Rachel as she came onto the patio and sat across the table from him.
A couple of minutes passed before she spoke, "Did you talk to Joe?"
"Yes. He's going to try to reach Doris. Is Gracie sleeping?"
"As soon as we laid down she just hugged her pillow and cried herself to sleep. This is not going to be easy on her"
"I know…"
"Danny…we need to talk"
"Sure…what's wrong?"
"You mean other than all this?"
Danny grinned weakly, "Rachel…."
She reached across the table and took his hand, "Walk with me"
Holding hands he followed her off the deck and into the spacious back yard which was filled playground equipment, a fenced off swimming pool and Gracie's princess fortress that he had built with Steve and Chin's help last year.

She led him to a bench that overlooked the Ocean and still holding hands they sat. He turned to her and inquired, "Rachel, what is it?"
"Danny with all you're going through, it's probably not fair of me to bring this up now but you need to know"
She saw his body tense up, his jaw tighten as she continued, "I filed for divorce last week"

"What? Are you sure about this?"
"Danny….I need you to listen, I'm unsure Danny…."
He cut in, "If you're unsure Rach…."
"Danny, please listen. Don't talk, I'll explain" He nodded as she drew in a deep breath and dropped the bombshell, "Danny I'm not sure if Charlie is yours or Stan's"

He felt as if he had been punched in the gut and he took in a deep breath trying to stay composed, "I thought you were sure because of the change with the due date?"

"I thought I was Danny, but he came early…and as he gets older I see more of you in him every day. His mannerisms and he looks just like Gracie did, don't you see that?"

"Yes…I do. But you seemed so certain. Why now Rachel, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I'm so sorry. Danny I wanted to make my marriage work…I didn't want to fail again but I can't fool myself any more. I don't love Stan…..I love you. I never stopped loving you Danny. Please, please forgive me for being so stubbornly foolish. I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused you….and Gracie"

Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Rachel I love you with all my heart" As tears streaked his cheeks he added, "I've never stopped loving you either" He reached over and pulled her into a tight embrace and they both sobbed. The range of emotions they had experienced in the last day and a half overwhelmed them both.

They held each other for several minutes until Danny lifted her face from his shoulder and kissed her tenderly.
As their lips parted he spoke lovingly, "Does Gracie know about the divorce?"
"No, no…..I wanted to talk to you first"
"Now about Charlie….."
"We'll need a DNA test for certain"
"Absolutely. Does Stan know about your doubts?"
"Yes, I told him. He's not on a business trip right now Danny…..he needed to get away"
"And you're certain that you don't want to stay with him?"

"Yes Danny. I've never been more certain about anything. I had decided that no matter what you wanted to do I would not be staying with Stan. The papers have been filed, they're in the house. Do you know what you want to do?"

"Are you kidding me? Didn't that kiss tell you?"
She smiled at him as her tears continued to fall, "What if Charlie….."

"What? If he isn't biologically mine? Then I'll be the best damn step-father in the world. I would LOVE it if he were mine but no matter what…..I want us to be a family, all four of us"

She ran her hand through his hair as he pulled her back to him and they kissed.
Once their lips parted they sat quietly looking out over the vast Ocean. Eventually Danny chuckled softly, "Damn McGarrett, he was right again"
Grinning back she asked, "What do you mean?"
"Remember the first time you met him? When we staked out your neighbors?"
"How could I forget"

"He asked me a lot of questions that night about us. He was driving me crazy, but then again he did that quite often. A few nights later we went out for drinks after work and he started up with all the questions again. He wouldn't let up and finally I looked him in the eye and asked him if he was interested in you or something"

"Danny, you didn't!"
"Well of course I did!" He chuckled adding, "Don't act like that, you're a gorgeous woman"
"And of course he told you he wasn't interested"
"Yeah, and he told me why"
She looked at him inquisitively, "And why may I ask?"

Danny smiled as tears welled in his eyes, "Well, aside from the fact that you were a married woman, he told me we were brothers and he would never take my girl. I reminded him that we had been divorced for several years. I'll never forget his response…..he said our divorce was bullshit, and your marriage was bullshit. He said he'd been around long enough to recognize two people in love. He told me I should reveal my feelings to you"

"And why didn't you Daniel?"
"Let's just say you're not the only stubborn fool here. How do you want to handle things with Gracie?"
"We need to get her through this first, and that could take some time. Then I'll have to tell her about Stan and I"
"How do you think she'll take the news?"
"She does love him Danny, he's been very good to her"
"I know that. And I'm very grateful for that"

"She's a very bright girl though. As much as we've tried to put on a happy, loving front…she knows things have not been good between us for some time. Danny, I love you so much"
Using the same line he constantly used with Gracie, the blonde detective replied, "I love you more"
With that, they stood and walked arm in arm back into the house.

50505050505050505050505050

Steve slept for almost four hours before Cordoba came back into the basement and gave him another injection of meth.
Pedro Cordoba took over the next shift as guard and the others moved back upstairs.
In minutes the drugs had Steve hyped up and Matt was wondering how he could keep the SEAL from moving prematurely against their captors. He knew at least two or three of the thugs would leave for the food run in the morning. As much as McGarrett believed he could take out all six men himself, Matt had to convince him the odds would be much greater if he only faced three or four.

Cordoba stood at the bottom of the stairs with his gun trained on Steve.
As Steve sat up on the edge of the cot Matt moved quickly to block Cordoba's view of the scissors that Steve had forgot were hiding beneath him. Placing a hand on the SEALS shoulder he used his other hand to reach behind him and slide the scissors towards him. Once the scissors were next to Steve's leg, Matt acted as casual as possible pulling a blanket over the SEAL's lap.

"Well partner, looks like you're all rested up"
"Yeah….ddamn ddrugs"
Matt whispered to him, "The scissors are by your leg, cover them" The speaking loud enough for Cordoba to hear he asked, "Are you hungry? I saved you some food"

"Yeah, sounds good buddy. Thank you"
Matt handed Steve the half sandwich and orange and then said quietly, "Don't do anything stupid Steve…..remember, tomorrow morning"
"Thursday….."
"Ssshhhh…." Then for Cordoba's ears Matt said loudly, "No partner, I think today's only Wednesday, not Thursday. It's easy to lose track of time in this shit hole"

Cordoba laughed and said, "Get used to this shit hole, it's going to be your grave boys"
Matt caught Steve's eyes and again whispered, "Be patient….not now"

Matt watched Steve knowing full well that the meth could cause increased violent behavior and paranoia. He needed to do everything he could to keep Steve from being tied back up. He couldn't let him make a stupid move though….their lives depended on it.

***** Thanks as always for reading. Please remember reviews are greatly appreciated and a great motivation to keep writing ! *****