A/N: "abcdefg" is present speech.
'abcdefg' is past speech or memories

Sorrow.

He'd been a little surprised that Steve wasn't already in the office when he walked in after dropping his daughter off at school. His partner was the sort of person who would have dragged himself to work even if his head was only hanging on by a thread, and Danny had felt the familiar strands of worry coiling in his stomach when Steve's phone went to voicemail. They'd all chalked it up to Steve being asleep, drugged to the gills to dull the stabbing pain that flared whenever the former Seal moved. He'd pushed out of his chair and reached for his keys the third time Steve's phone rang out.

The ground floor had been quiet when Danny slipped through the front door and he'd headed for the stairs, calling his partner's name as he took the steps two at a time. The door to the master bedroom had been wide open, the room beyond it dark as he'd hovered uncertainly in the doorway, and he'd taken a cautious step towards the bed, his eyes focusing on the pile of the blankets on the left. He'd fumbled for the light switch, grimacing when the sudden brightness caused pain to flare behind his eyes, and he'd called Steve's name again, his face twisting in concern when the lump under the blankets didn't stir.

'Steve?'

He'd reached across the pull the blankets away, pausing when the backs of his fingers brushed against his partner's face. Steve's cheek had been cold and his heart had thudded heavily against the wall of his chest as he shakily pressed two fingers to his partner's neck. He's prayed and pleaded with his partner, begged him to talk and to open his eyes as he searched frantically for the throbs he so desperately wanted to feel bounding beneath his fingertips.

Danny clears his throat, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the golden velvety sand at the waterline that peeked out from under the white crests of the waves breaking on the shore.

"He bled out overnight. It was peaceful – he went to sleep and just didn't wake up. Max said that he wouldn't have known what was happening."

Mary nods tightly and set her almost-full bottle on the plastic table behind her, lifting her hands to roughly scrub at her eyes. The delicate skin underneath is puffy and hot with dark circles that stand out against her pale complexion like bruises. She's always thought that her brother would go out in a blaze of glory, fighting hard under the last breath of air was forced from his lungs. Steve had survived a tour of Afghanistan and six years in the Seals only to die alone in his sleep. It felt remarkably cruel, not only to her but to the rest of Five-0, to Catherine and to Grace. They were Steve's adopted family after he'd been forced to send her back to the mainland, away from the crystal clear waters and tropical beaches that had been starting to feel like home again.

She shivers slightly in the cool breeze, pulling her hands up into the sleeves of her shirt and hugging her arms to her stomach as she leans heavily against the white wooden pillar to her right. When she closes her eyes she can still feel the pressure of Steve's arms, so warm and comforting, wrapped around her back and the burn of his stubble brushing against her skin as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. The last memory she has of her big brother is the spicy warmth of his cologne and the rough pad of his thumb on her cheek as he brushed her hair from her face.

'We're going to see each other again, okay? We will.'
'You promise?'
'Yes, I promise.'

"I want to see him."

The sky is turning electric above the water and she brushes at the tears on her cheeks, turning to look at her brother's partner across the lanai.

"Please."

Danny tears his gaze away from the vivid bursts of pink and orange staining the darkening water beyond the beach at her plea and he nods, rubbing the palms of his hands down over the bridge of his nose and across his cheeks. He smiles at her sadly, reaching across the space to rest a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll talk to Max, see what he can do."

She wraps her arms around Danny's neck, pressing her forehead into his collarbone as she breathes in the fresh ocean-cotton mix of the sea and his shirt, and she feels him squeeze her tight.

"Thank you. I miss him so much, Danny."

He huffs quietly and pulls her closer, burying his face in her hair. His eyes are wet when she pulls out of her embrace and she can hear his cellphone vibrating against the keys in his pocket as he turns away to scrub at his face with the heel of his hand. He glances down at his phone and she takes a half step forwards, pushing up onto the balls of her feet to peer nosily over his shoulder when she sees his expression darken at the name flashing across the bright backlit screen.

"Does Catherine know?"

Danny shakes his head, turning his gaze back to the beach when the phone stills against the palm of his hand.

"No. Not yet, anyways. I should probably go, call her back…"

She nods, keeping her gaze fixed on the shadowy palms at the edge of the water as Danny collects the empty bottles from the plastic table behind her and turns towards the French doors. His head is bowed, shoulders slumped, as she watches him step over the sill into the dining room and her eyes drift towards the tarnished silver frame on the dresser behind her father's desk, and the smiling dark-haired couple in their grey-green working uniforms.
She ducks around the table, her long blonde hair swinging in front of her face as she breaks into a run. Danny has one hand on the polished brass handle of the open door when she catches up to him on the front porch.

"I'll do it. I'll call Catherine."