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Late evening at the Palace, so engrossed was Steve in his laptop that he didn't see his partner enter his office to come stand before his desk. Danny patiently waited for Steve to acknowledge his presence.
"Yes, I know you're here, Danny," Steve said annoyingly without looking up from the computer screen.
"For a second there I thought I was invisible."
"You may not be that tall but you take up space."
"Is that a cheap shot about my weight?" Danny feigned umbrage.
"Well you have been overindulging on the malasadas lately," Steve quipped, still with his nose buried in his laptop.
"It's your fault for bringing them to work every morning."
"I knew you'd somehow find a way to turn this against me." Steve finally lifted his eyes up and stared at the gauze on Danny's forehead. "How's the head?"
"I should be asking you that question. What happened back there?"
"You were there. We got Samson."
"Yes we did but we nearly lost him because of that swaying number you did on me."
"What?" Steve shrugged.
"What?" Danny mimicked. "Steve, you nearly fainted back there. Now what the heck is wrong?"
"I'm good, Danny. Told you it's just a little insomnia. No big deal."
"Okay let's do something about that right here and now. Come here."
"What?"
"Come over here." Danny beckoned toward himself. "And shut that off."
With a puzzled frown Steve closed his laptop lid, then stood and walked over to Danny who grabbed him by the arm to guide him over to the door.
"Danny, where are we going?" Steve asked bemused but nevertheless complied with Danny's request out of curiosity.
"Home. It's almost seven."
"Can't. I need to go down and grill Samson on his mole."
"You've agreed to let Chin and Kono get a crack at him first."
"Yeah but if they don't succeed I want a shot at him."
"You'll do it tomorrow."
"No Danny. I need to settle this tonight. I'm staying here until we get a confession even if it takes all night."
"Fine then," Danny huffed out in exasperation. "You sit there." He gently but firmly pushed Steve down on the office couch and then took a hold of his legs to swing them over to lay outstretched.
"Danny? Danny, what are you doing?" Danny silently reached for the afghan at the foot of the couch and unfurled it. "Danny?"
"You're going to take a short nap while we wait for the results of the interrogation."
"You've gotta be kidding me?!" Steve rebuked and threw the blanket aside.
"NO!" Danny said forcefully, pushing his partner down. "You stay there. If you intend to put an all-nighter with this guy, you'll need to stock up on some sleep."
"Danny, come on!" Steve peeved. "You're being ridiculous!"
Danny huffed out and sat on the edge of the couch. "Steve, look at you! You have dark circles under your eyes and you can barely keep them open. Don't think I haven't seen you yawn your head off all day. In fact you've been slacking a bit these past few days. You told me you haven't been sleeping well lately."
"Well I obviously had a lot on my mind. Must be the stress of the case."
"Uh huh. You honestly expect me to swallow that crap? McGarrett you live and breathe stress. You give other people stress."
Steve's tepid smile was quickly followed by a yawn that he desperately attempted to stifle.
"Now that our thief is safely tucked away in the holding cell being racked over hot coals, you can relax and bring the adrenalin rush down a notch or two. How long has it been since you had a restful night? Two, three weeks?"
"I don't know."
"Well you just lie there. Chin and Kono will handle Samson."
"Danny, it's my job!"
"Not this time. You can delegate the work to your must trusted cohorts? I'm sure they'll do a good job. I'll just sit here and make sure you snooze."
"I doubt that'll happen with you there watching me."
"All right then. I'll be in my office and keep an eye on you from there."
"This is ridiculous Danny, I'm fine!" Steve insisted.
Danny sprung a finger up. "What did I tell you about that? No discussion." He took the afghan and spread it over his partner. "Now get some sleep," he insisted getting a glower in return. "And don't give me that Danny-I'll-get-you-for-this face babe, 'cause it won't make me relent. Now close those baby blues or greys or whatever color they are tonight."
"Danny be serious! What if the governor walks in and finds his task force leader napping on the job?"
"Pilots have mandatory rest periods? So I'm decreeing one for leaders of task forces effective immediately. I'll deal with Denning if he should drop by."
Steve made no effort to contradict his partner and decided to humor him, knowing full well that it was a complete waste of valuable time, and that sleep would not claim him while the wheels were turning in his head.
"I won't sleep," Steve proclaimed adamantly with his arms crossed against his chest in defiance, refusing to comply.
"Okay then, just rest. Stop the machines for a bit." Again Steve glowered at him. "I tell you what: if you don't doze off in the next fifteen minutes, I'll allow you to get up. How's that?"
"Danny I'm not a child."
"Do we have a deal?" Danny insisted, getting a sheepish nod in return."Good. Now close your eyes. At least make the effort."
Surprisingly enough the sandman was quick to work his magic and soon, Steve was out like a light.
H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50
Half an hour later Chin and Kono returned to the Five-0 offices with their report.
"So how did it go?" Danny asked expectantly.
Kono flashed a satisfied grin. "We got Samson to confess. Your suggestion of telling him his informant was in on the fake jewels panned out."
"That was a long shot considering we had no tangible proof of a nark inside HPD."
"Well your Detective instincts paid off."
"Who was it?"
"Jane Kaio."
Danny was stunned. His eyes darted from one face to another in search of a hint that this was a joke. "The new rookie?" Both cousins nodded.
"She was having a covert affair with Samson and would give him tips on when and where the next load of merchandise would be delivered in exchange for a piece of the pie," Chin said.
"Well I'll be damned! She's the last I would have suspected. Good work, guys! So that means the case is officially closed."
"Just about. We only need to iron out a few details but the bulk of it is done," Chin explained.
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. It was some humdinger but we did it!" Danny exulted. He shared a high-five with his teammates.
"Where's Steve?" Kono asked as she looked around to spot the boss.
Danny jutted his head toward the glass window behind which Steve was sleeping soundly on his office couch. "He's taking a nap."
"Is he all right?" Chin asked with concern.
"Yeah, just exhausted. He was intent on putting an all-nighter in the holding cell to get Samson to spill his guts if you two hadn't gotten the goods out of him. So I suggested a catnap. It took a lot of muscle and convincing arguments to get him to lie down but once I did, he was out like a light barely five minutes later. Incidentally I was on the phone with the Governor a few minutes ago. He obviously hadn't heard of the outcome of your interrogation but he did promise us some time off once we cracked Samson and got him to confess."
"You mean we'll be off duty?" Kono asked. She turned to Chin who wore a huge smile. "When?"
"Well seeing how you crack the nut, I assume that would be next Monday," Danny said.
"How long?"
"Four weeks. He says HPD will handle whatever comes their way during that time."
"Four weeks!" Kono exclaimed in amazement. "How did you wrangle that?"
"Didn't need to. He was more than satisfied with the work done and thought it was long overdue."
"So what you're saying is that Five-0 will be closed for a month?" Chin needed solid confirmation before rejoicing.
"Yup!"
"Does Steve know?" Kono asked.
"Not yet. I'll tell him once he wakes up. He agreed to come to New Jersey with me some time ago and I intend to put the invitation back on the table. I won't take no for an answer. Enjoy your time off. Steve and me will handle the paperwork."
"You mean you, don't you?" Chin tease.
"You know my Neanderthal animal so well, Lieutenant Kelly," Danny ribbed back. "Now go on! It's late."
"Thanks – boss," Kono mocked before she and Chin headed toward the exit.
H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50
Danny was sitting behind Steve's desk shuffling through his partner's overdue paperwork when he heard a soft moan coming from the couch. He flipped the folder close, stood and walked over to his awakening friend.
He sat in a chair across from the couch and waited for Steve to open his eyes. Once they flicked open he smiled at the drawn face staring back at him. "Hey, welcome back! Sleep well?"
"What time is it?" Steve asked hoarsely.
"A little after eight."
Steve swiftly sprung into a sitting position. "What? You let me sleep that long?" he seethed and hissed against the hammering in his skull. He pinched the bridge of his nose and drew a deep breath to quell the pain.
"Obviously your body needed it. Come on now. Let's get you home."
"Can't go home now," Steve griped as he stood.
"Yes you can. Chin and Kono got Samson to confess. He'll be the Internal Affairs' problem now. Come on. Need to go before we leave?" Danny asked, motioning to the men's room."
"No. I'm good and quit coddling me!" Steve bellyached and swiped Danny's hand away. "I'm not a baby."
"Maybe not but right now you're whining like one. Besides I have something I want to discuss with you. We'll order takeouts. My treat. You provide the beers and TV. We'll put on a classic."
"I see I'm not gonna win this argument," Steve relented with a sigh of defeat.
"Right you are. Now come on you big goof."
H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50
Later that night at Steve's house, the two friends were sitting side by side on the lanai with a bottle of beer in hand, just shooting the breeze. It was way past eleven but neither showed the slightest hint of wanting to call it a night.
After having rehearsed his speech a thousand times in his mind, Danny finally mustered up the courage to broach the subject of the time off that Denning had graciously allotted to the members of his task force.
"Say babe, you remember the vacation we were promised last year and never took?"
"Yeah. The opportunity never rose what with all those crime sprees."
"Well now is the time. I've spoken with the governor. Denning has agreed to put Five-0 on temporary leave starting next week."
"When was that?"
"Early evening while you were catching some Zs. He's agreed that it was long overdue."
"Chin and Kono too?"
"The whole team. Duke and his men will handle the cases, if any." Danny allowed a brief pause to let Steve digest the news. "So? What do you say?"
"I could use some time off."
Needless to say that Danny was utterly surprised by Steve's reaction. Normally the SEAL would have put up an argument and at the risk of generating one, Danny decided not to tease his friend about his willingness to comply.
"How about some WE time." Steve frowned quizzically. "Rachel, Grace and me are going to my parents' in New Jersey for Spring Break. I spoke with Rachel and she agreed it was a good idea."
"What's a good idea?"
"That you join us on this trip. I don't need to ask Grace for I know she'll jump for joy at the thought of having her favorite uncle come with us. They'll be with us the first week before going back once Spring Break's over, and then it'll be just the two of us."
"Oh Danny, I don't know about that." Steve was ill-at-ease with this arrangement.
"What's the matter?"
"This is your family vacation."
"Babe, how many times do I need to say that you ARE family."
Steve fashioned a thoughtful smile. "Thanks but I don't want to impose on anyone."
"You're talking about my parents?" Steve nodded. "It was my mom's idea in fact that I bring you along. She and dad are anxious to finally meet you. She asked me not to take no for an answer." A thankful smile crept up on Steve's lips shortly followed by a cringe.
"What's that face for?"
"It's winter over there, isn't it?"
"Technically it's closer to spring."
"Well it's cold and obviously I don't have the proper clothing to bring with me."
"So we'll buy some when we get there. We can always lend you warm clothes in the meantime."
"Danny, I don't know," Steve sighed heavily. He hesitated to accept the appealing invitation.
"Can you come up with any convincing argument to make me back down from this deal?" Steve stared at Danny for the longest time without uttering a single word, his longing expression speaking louder than words. "Time's out! It's settled. You're coming with us."
Steve shrugged. "Might be fun. I'm curious to see if the grass's greener on the other side."
"Well it won't be infested with pineapples I can guarantee you that."
"They do have pineapple-ham pizzas in your neighborhood, don't they?" Steve teased.
Danny rolled in eyes and heaved out an annoyed sigh. "Sadly yes."
Steve couldn't help but smirk as he sank deeper into his chair. "Perfect!"
H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50
With a few too many beers down both of them, getting behind the wheel was out of the question. Instead Steve offered his partner the hospitality of the guestroom for the remainder of the night, but Danny opted for the couch instead.
He shut off the kitchen lights and headed toward the livingroom to check if his partner needed anything. The blond was already fast asleep, cocooned in a blanket with the TV set open. A warm-hearted smile danced on Steve's lips at the sight.
As he climbed up to his bedroom, a sudden dizzy spell made him lose his footing and nearly sent him tumbling down the stairs. He gripped the railing and breathed deeply to dispel the wooziness. Sensing his legs about to give out from underneath him, he sat on the step and waited for the discomfort to pass.
He brushed a hand across his face and noticed the fine gleam of sweat covering his brow and his skin felt flushed. His heart pounded out of his chest and his pulse raced. He leaned his head sideways against the wall and closed his eyes.