Danny stared at the ship with apprehension. He had seen the vessel many times before, but this time it was his haystack and the needle was two beloved members of his family. The task seemed overwhelming, but he knew he was wasting precious time wallowing in his anxiety.

Coach Maki stayed with the group while Ed met Danny at the gangplank. After hasty introductions, Danny followed Ed onto the ship, peppering him with questions as they walked. He knew the answer to the first question, but he asked anyway.

"Have they shown up?"

"No. We're still looking."

"Damn it. So, when's the last time anybody saw them?"

"Everyone hit the sack close to midnight. Trevor said he saw Charlie go to the bathroom and soon after, he told Commander McGarrett and he followed after him."

"Do you know what time that was?"

"Hard to say. Trevor guesses it was a couple hours after they went to bed."

The pair arrived at the mess where the others were gathered. Coach Maki joined them at the side of the larger room and shook Danny's hand.

"Hey, sorry about all this, man. I'm clueless," Maki admitted, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"Come on, it's not your fault," Danny tried to ease any guilt Maki may be feeling. "We're going to find them."

"You joked earlier about him going out for pancakes, do you think he and Charlie would have left without telling anyone?" Coach Maki asked.

"Don't think so. His truck's still in the parking lot and he wouldn't have left his phone and he wouldn't have taken Charlie without letting me know. So, tell me about Tyler and his dad. Jon, is it?"

"No. Jon is his stepdad. His biological father, Jim, joined Tyler for this camp."

"Jim? Jim Worsham?"

Maki shook his head. "Tyler has gone by his stepfather's name for years. I'll get the registrations and find Jim's name. Be right back."

Danny turned his attention back to Ed while they waited. "Well, so tell me where things stand right now."

"We only had one other employee here last night besides me. He's been helping me look. He's checking the armory level now because we found an open door that's usually closed and blockaded. We had an idea; the Commander almost took over the tour last night."

"Not surprising," Danny mumbled.

Ed continued, "We kind of thought with the Commander's knowledge and level of interest, he may be doing his own personal tour and reminiscing around the gun turrets."

"Can you take me there?"

"Sure. It's not far from here."

They had only taken a few steps down the hallway, when Maki caught up with them holding a file folder, his finger holding a place inside. "Wait up! I got it. Tyler's mom filled out the form, but she put Jim's name on here as Edwin James…"

"…Ledford," Danny finished his sentence.

Maki looked up at Danny with a surprised look on his face. "Why, yes. It is Ledford. How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," Danny downplayed. A sick flutter rolled through his stomach. He put one hand on the back of his head and turned away from the others, letting the confirmation sink in.

"We were just heading to the armory entrance," Ed informed Maki. "We're going to check in with Tom and see if he's found anything."

"I probably need to get back with the team. If I can do anything, though, let me know," Maki offered.

Danny turned back to the pair. The hand that had made its way to the back of his tense neck moved to connect with Maki's arm. "Thanks, Coach. You take care of the team. We'll keep you informed."

Danny and Ed continued in the direction of the armory deck entrance, when Danny abruptly put his arm out and stopped Ed in his tracks. "Hold up."

"What?" Ed seemed perplexed.

"Where does that go?"

"The levels below."

"Is the hatch always open?"

"Yes, it's like that for the visitors to see, but we keep that barrier up with the sign and stress the importance of staying away."

"I want to go down there."

"But, I think we'd have better luck with Tom."

"It's been moved," Danny resolutely pressed.

"What?" Ed was confused.

"The stanchion… it's been moved. Do you all ever go through there?"

"We're on the lower levels all the time. The day tours even go down there, but from the other end of the ship. There's easier access."

"Well someone's been down there recently. The tiles are faded everywhere except in that one spot." Danny moved the stanchion over the darker round circle to demonstrate. "And see, scuff marks."

Ed's silence demonstrated his acceptance of Danny's hypothesis, or at least his willingness to consider it as viable. Danny had already moved the barrier to the side and was descending the steps without waiting for approval.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

As soon as he saw the bar that had been run through the door handle, Danny knew he had found what he was looking for.

"Steve?! Charlie?!" He allowed a second to bang on the door with his open palm as he yelled, but then he went to work on getting the makeshift bolt off the door.

Ed stood several steps behind him in shock at what he was seeing. How could this have happened? Who could have done this?

Thinking Ed was right behind him, Danny turned to hand the bar to him but at seeing his dumbfounded expression, he quickly abandoned that idea and tossed the bar to the side. The metal bar landed on the floor with a loud clank and equally loud follow-up reverberations, awaking Ed from his stupor. Ed rushed over to help Danny get the door open. Danny's heart dropped as he saw the darkness inside. He had been wrong.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Steve heard the commotion, the banging, and the familiar voice calling his name. He grinned.

His partner had found them, not Ed, or Maki, or other searchers. His partner, a scared dad searching for his son, had found them. He didn't respond, didn't answer, didn't move. Even as light from the now-well-lit hallway finally flooded into the room, he was content just to know they had been found. He sat with his arm wrapped around an exhausted, sleeping little boy. Charlie would be safe in his Danno's arms in no time.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

No one would have ever noticed Danny's hesitation, but he did hesitate. He would tell himself it was because the room was pitch black dark and he thought they had come to a dead end, but he could tell the room was tiny and if he were honest with himself, he'd have to admit he hesitated. The light from the hallway partially seeped into the dark room and Danny stepped in, squinting in an attempt to help his eyes acclimate faster. His pessimistic side had won out with his assumption the room was empty, but he was checking anyway because he had to confirm. He didn't even bother to call their names any longer as he stepped in, sure that they would have to continue their search elsewhere. Then he saw the outstretched legs and he felt reinvigorated.

"Steve?" The alarmed energy in his voice from moments ago was gone. The unusually relaxed utterance seemed normal.

"Hey, Danny." Steve reciprocated the composed tone.

Danny's eyes were adjusting and he could see his son curled up in the bend of Steve's arm beside him, obviously asleep and still unaware of the rescue. No longer having to worry about the battery running out, Steve turned on the flashlight again to add more light to the room. Danny bent over, resting his hands on his knees and let out a cleansing breath. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, Danno, we're good." Steve still didn't make a move to get up. "We've just been waiting for you to join the party."

Charlie stirred when his subconscious heard his uncle say the familiar name. His eyes squinted open and he looked totally confused as to where he was. "Danno?"

"Yep, buddy. It's me." Danny stepped over Steve's legs and reached down to lift the boy into his arms. He drew him in close for a hug and held the embrace a little too long for Charlie's liking. He started to wiggle and push himself back to see his dad's face.

"Danno, I think I'm ready to go home."

"You got it. I was just thinking the same thing." Without letting go of Charlie, Danny reached his hand down to Steve's to help pull him up to standing.

"Tyler's dad hurt Uncle Steve."

Danny's eyes widened and focused on his partner. "What?"

"I'm fine, but yeah, we need to find Tyler's dad. He's…"

"EJ Ledford, otherwise known as Edwin James or Jim."

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Detective." The one-word explanation was meant to sound condescending.

Ed, who had been standing right outside the door watching, added, "He's a good one at that. We were searching in a totally different area of the ship, but Detective Williams found something we missed which led us down here."

"I think ole EJ tried to throw us off the trail by leaving the door to the armory level open," Danny explained. He looked around the small room and felt uncomfortable. "Let's get out of here." He carried Charlie out into the hallway where the light was better and Steve followed. "Oh, yeah. I see now. Looks like he walloped you pretty good." He couldn't help but touch the bump on the side of Steve's head.

Steve winced and drew away from the touch. "Stop it. I said it's fine." Steve still needed to know how much Danny knew about EJ and then help to find him. "Look, Ledford's Tyler's biological father. He took off with him a couple of hours ago. We need to go after him."

"No. I need to get my son home and you need to get that head looked at. I know you've got a thick skull and all, but you could have a concussion."

"You get Charlie home. I'm going after EJ." Steve walked away.

"You going in your bare feet and PJs, babe?! I thought sure they'd be camo," he mumbled that last thought. "And where are you going to look for him?!" Danny yelled out after him.

Steve stopped but didn't turn around. He put his hands on his hips and let his head fall forward. Danny was right. He didn't know where EJ had gone. He didn't know where to start.

"Sorry about that," Danny apologized to Ed as he pointed his thumb toward the broken bar he had left on the floor.

"No, no, it's fixable. It's just… I…" Ed stumbled for the words.

"I know. Don't worry about it. If you were around him more, you'd get used to it."

Steve turned and rolled his eyes at his partner. "Can we go?" Steve spoke impatiently.

Danny and Ed started down the hallway to join Steve. "So, now you're in a hurry?" Danny contrasted this with his reluctance to break his hold with Charlie a few minutes before. Steve began walking again and Ed and Danny followed.

They hadn't made it to the steps yet when Danny's phone buzzed. Danny stopped and set Charlie down and took the call.

"Lou, give me some good news."

"We got'em. HPD's loading him up now."

The tension in Danny's shoulders and face deflated with the news. "What about Tyler… the boy that was with him? Did you get him? Is he safe?"

"Yep, he's fine. A little dazed and definitely wiped out, but he'll be fine."

Steve stood staring at Danny as he listened to the one-sided conversation, riveted by what he was hearing. Danny kept the phone to his ear but turned it away from his mouth to whisper to Steve, "They got Ledford. It's over." He put the phone back in place as he listened to Lou.

"We almost missed him," Lou recounted. "The boat he was going to be taking off the island was starting to leave when we got there. He gave up, though, without incident. Believe it or not, I think he was still concerned for his boy. Didn't want him to get hurt."

"Wow, give him the father-of-the-year award. So… I'm going to get Charlie back to Rachel and our fearless leader to the doctor then I'll meet you at the office for the lowdown."

"The doctor? What happened to McGarrett?"

"Oh, the usual. Got a bump on the head. Says he's fine. You know the drill."

"Can we do anything to help?"

"We'll need to get HPD over here to process, but I can manage the boys."

"All right. I'll get in touch with Duke and we'll see you at the palace later. Can't wait to hear this one. I feel like it's been a full day, but we're just getting started."

"You got that right. See ya, Lou." Danny finished his call and realized he owed Steve some information. Steve was eyeing him like a hungry dog, chomping at the bit for a steak, but waiting for his owner's go.

"You're an animal. Can we get upstairs first?"

Steve reluctantly conceded, knowing it would do no good to press Danny at the moment.

Once upstairs, Steve checked in with the concerned campers and let Coach Maki in on a summary of the events of the previous evening. In the meantime, Danny took a few moments to question Charlie.

"Are you sure you're okay? No boo boos or anything?"

Charlie shook his head. "I'm okay."

"Aaallll right, …if you're sure."

"I am. Danno, did you get to see the cool models? They're behind glass. You don't get to touch them, but they're cooool. Kinda like the one Uncle Steve has in his office. There are offices here too but they aren't as cool as Uncle Steve's. It's kinda like a city, they have a post office and school rooms and…"

"Okay, buddy. I want to hear all of the 'cool' details but right now I want to get you home. You've had a long night… and I want to get Uncle Steve to see a doctor about that head."

"His hard head?"

Danny smiled. Someone had been paying attention to him. "Yes, his hard head. Even hard heads can get hurt."

"Sorry I didn't do so good looking out for Uncle Steve."

"Buddy, you did just fine. I'm very proud of you." Danny wanted to change the subject. "How 'bout you tell me all about the 'cool' stuff when we finish our Battleship Game?"

"Okay, Danno. Are you sure you didn't peek at my board?"

"I promise." Danny barely got the words out before Charlie let out a long yawn. "See what I mean. Let's go, Captain America."

Charlie giggled as Danny swept him over his shoulder and tickled his side.

"'ey! Steve!" Danny motioned with his free arm for Steve to follow. Steve said his goodbyes and they left together.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Charlie had been a trooper. He'd managed to stay awake on the way home, but he had been in somewhat of a daze and had remained uninterested in the conversation that went on in the front seat. Danny had given Steve the watered-down version of what he had done that morning, touching only on the highlights so Steve would get the gist.

Having dropped Charlie off at Rachel's, Danny now pulled into the hospital parking lot and put the Camaro in park while it idled with the air on. The drive from Rachel's house to the hospital wasn't long enough for Steve to finish telling his whole story, so they sat in the car where it was quiet and while they had each other's full attention.

"I should have been there," Danny stated dejectedly.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm his dad. If I'd been there, doing my dad duties, then…"

"…then what? Everything would have gone down the same way but it would've been me rescuing your butt."

"No, no. That's not true. I would have recognized Ledford right away. I'd have locked his ass up last night and enjoyed the rest of the camp with my son."

"Yeah, right. I don't think so."

"You don't think so?"

"You are a great detective and all, but this guy looked different. You wouldn't have known."

Danny took a second to reflect on the comment, recognizing that he had just gotten a compliment of sorts from his compliment-stingy partner. "Uh, I'll agree to disagree."

"So, you're not a great detective?"

"Idiot. I'll agree to disagree that I wouldn't have known Ledford."

"Of course, you will, so I know you'll disagree with this, but you would have been the one to tangle with Ledford and you would have been the one to end up in that…" Steve stopped mid-sentence when the path brought something else to mind, not sure if he wanted to go there. He decided to adjust the direction he was going. "You know something? Charlie is just like you."

"Careful, you're going to get whiplash to go with that bump on your head. I know Charlie is just like me. He's tough, strong, resilient, just like his old man, but I'm sure you had something else in mind, so I'll bite. Let me have it."

"No, it's true. Did you hear him? Going on like nothing even happened. I'd say he's very much resilient."

"'kay, but I feel like you had more in mind."

"Well, now that you ask, did you know that Charlie has claustrophobia 'just like his old man'?" He opted to get right to the point rather than drag this out anymore.

"Come on."

"No, I mean it. He's you in little form. He's a Mini-Danno."

"Cute, Steven."

"Really, man, he almost had a panic attack in that room. Took me back to the building collapse."

"What?" Danny was having a hard time processing this information. There was a part of him that believed it, but the other part was fighting it because he didn't want to believe it.

Steve nodded.

"Wait. You're telling me, my son, Charlie, the one that calls you uncle, is afraid of small places and confinement?"

Steve continued to nod without saying a word.

"What happened in there? He seemed fine."

"He kept staring at the door, saying he wanted to leave…"

"Well, that's just normal. Anyone in the same position would have done that."

"What I saw wasn't normal. His breathing became hard and irregular. He began to sweat and complained of feeling sick."

"I don't believe this. Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just did. It's not like I had much opportunity before."

"So, what did you do? How did you talk him down?"

"I used your trick, and it worked. I had him recite each player on his team with their positions. He did it and by the time he finished he was in a much better place. He calmed down and fell asleep a little while later. That's where he stayed 'til you found us."

Danny curled his lips down as he thought of the implications. "Okay, so I wonder what I need to do about it?"

"It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get him in to see someone. Maybe they can help before he gets older and it gets bad."

"You mean, like me?"

"No… well, maybe."

"'kay, you're probably right, and speaking of getting in to see someone, we need to get you in here to get that head checked out."

"All right." Steve put his hand on the door handle. "I love that you care about me," he goofy-grinned at Danny.

"Putz. Let's go."


~to be continued~

BronsonL\,,,/