Hey there, thanks for your support as always.

Criminology experts often stressed the importance of the initial twenty-four hours in a missing person's investigation, a crucial window now four hours past in Steve's case. And Danny was nowhere close to finding his partner yet.

The clock on his office wall just ticked away one in the morning, and it cost him all the effort to even keep his eyes open at that point. It was the second sleepless night in a row after a really difficult working week, but he wouldn't rest until Steve was safe. He couldn't.

Struggling against the pull of sleep, Danny fixated his gaze on the envelope addressed to the team lying on his cluttered desk. Anger surged anew as he recalled its contents:

Nice try.

Since you care so much, the next one is on you.

– R.M.

The looming threat wasn't lost on Danny. Makoni wasn't done yet. Five-0's pursuit of him only added fuel to the fire, intensifying Danny's determination to halt Makoni before the damage escalated beyond Steve's life. There was too much at stake.

Reaching for his mug with a sigh, Danny discovered it empty. His bloodshot eyes traced the empty mug's rim, yearning for more caffeine. He had pushed himself to the limits, he knew that much. His head throbbed in the aftermath of getting hurt in the explosion, just like his ribs, and every muscle in his body craved some rest.

He'd spent hours juggling more leads, making calls, and thinking about the scene from the container. About the bloody fingerprints smeared across the inside walls strangely positioned upside down, always coming in a group of ten. They were Steve's, he now knew. And Danny's tired brain offered a vivid image of his friend bound and searching for the way out, because that's exactly what it looked like.

It didn't take long to find out the identity of the two dead men. They were both Congolese nationals with quite a record. How they got into the country without being noticed remained a mystery. Just like the reason they ended up with bullets in their forehead in the same shipping container Steve had been held captive in.

He also wondered why would Makoni relocate Steve. Did he know they were coming? If so, how? Or did the time come to get rid of his hostage? Danny disregarded the latter not only for the reason it was simply unbearable to think of, but he was confident that if Makoni wanted to kill Steve already, they would have found three bodies in that container, not two. Steve was still out there somewhere.

So Danny kept looking. Kept searching for anything that could help them find his friend and the man behind all this. But his body was running on fumes. His mind begged for rest, too, and it started playing tricks on him hours ago. He needed some sleep. Or more caffeine.

Fighting against his body's plea for rest, Danny rose with a grunt. His legs felt wobbly, and the room seemed to sway as he stood. The simple act of walking to the coffee machine out in the hall became a Herculean effort.

Pouring coffee felt like a surreal experience. As though he were watching himself from a distance. He sipped it mechanically as he walked back past Lou's office, watching him struggling to stay awake as he worked behind his desk. He caught a glance of Jerry, dozed off on the sofa in Steve's office. Danny didn't blame him. Tani and Junior barely spoke as they went through leads on the smart table, their faces pale and eyes red.

He forced more of the acrid liquid down his throat, knowing that no amount of caffeine would make this team run indefinitely. They needed to find their friend. Fast.

Returning to his cluttered desk, he continued where he'd stopped, but his eyes soon drooped as though weighted by anchors. The warmth in the office, once a comforting cocoon, now seemed to lull him into a stupor. He blinked repeatedly, struggling to focus on the bunch of notes scribbled on the paper.

Time blurred. Minutes and hours merged into a haze. His head nodded forward, eyelids heavy as steel shutters. As he slumped onto the desk, his forehead coming to rest on a pile of documents, the room around him fell into a quiet reprieve, with only the soft tick-tock of the wall clock marking the passage of unnoticed time.

"Danny?"

Lou's voice jolted him awake.

"Huh?" He raised his head, realizing he'd fallen asleep on his desk. "What time is it?"

"Almost six."

"Shit," Danny swore, rubbing his eyes. "You should've woken me up."

He'd just wasted hours. Hours that must have felt like a lifetime for his best friend. The important hours that could mean all the difference for Steve.

"I couldn't," Lou protested. "You are hurt. You shouldn't even be working. Your body needed some rest."

He looked up and caught Lou's worried glance. The man didn't look much better than him. The dark bags under his red eyes proved that he hadn't slept for forty-eight hours. He was a hollow shell of himself.

"You look like you could use some too," he said.

Lou just shrugged.

"We've got something new?" Danny asked.

"The lab results are back," Lou said, his expression grim. "Some of the blood in that container matched Steve's."

It wasn't a surprise. Not after matching Steve's fingerprints with the bloody mess inside that metal hell. Yet, it hit him like a truck. It confirmed what Danny had been afraid of all along. Steve was hurt. How much, he didn't know. But his brain presented him with all kinds of grim possibilities.

Lou seemed to read his mind. "He's gonna be fine," he said.

"You don't know that," Danny retorted.

"That's what we have to believe right now," Lou said. "I know it's hard. But we'll do everything in our power to get him back and you know that Steve will do everything he can to stay alive until then."

Lou was right. If anyone could survive in the hands of a monster, it was Steve.

"There's something else," Lou said. "Brooks called."

"Why did she call you, not me?"

"She was hoping I could talk some sense into you," he said. "She was pissed."

Danny scoffed. "I don't care."

"Maybe you should," Lou said. "She's not wrong."

Danny wanted to protest, but he had to admit that going after Makoni despite the agent's warnings might not have been the best move.

"Did you tell her about the note?" he asked.

"Of course not."

"Did she say anything else?"

"She tried to dig some dirt. See if something changed after we stormed that place. But so far it looks like the trade is still on as planned," Lou said.

To Danny's relief. Some part of him was really worried he had screwed up and made the situation even worse.

"I can't just stop looking for him, Lou," he said, locking his gaze with Lou's.

"Nobody's asking you to," Lou said. "We get it. We all want him back as bad as you do. But maybe we should try to be a bit more careful from now on."

Danny nodded reluctantly.

"Come on now, I've got a surprise for you out here," Lou said, gesturing to the doorway.

Curious, Danny followed him out of his office and found a group of his co-workers standing around the smart table, talking to a dark-haired man dressed in a gray long-sleeved polo shirt. The man had his back turned to him, yet Danny recognized him in a matter of seconds.

"Chin Ho Kelly?" he said, his voice unable to hide the surprise.

Chin turned with a sad smile on his lips, and approached Danny. He closed the space between them and wrapped the blonde man in a firm hug.

Danny winced, his hurt ribcage protesting at the impact.

Chin pulled away suddenly and frowned. "You okay?"

"Just peachy," Danny said with his face twisted into a painful grimace.

Chin raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but didn't push for the answers. "It's good to see you, brother," he said.

Danny still couldn't believe his own eyes."Yeah. But I thought you were in San Francisco," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was. But it looks like my ohana needs help," Chin said. "I came as soon as I heard what happened."

"It's all over the news, isn't it?"

Chin nodded and gestured to the rest of the team. "They just told me about Steve. I had no idea."

"Yeah." Danny's eyes fell to the floor with the mention of his partner.

"Abby had to stay there with Sara, but I was hoping I could help," Chin said.

Danny managed a weak smile, genuinely grateful for their old teammate showing up. "You're in luck then, because we could use any help we can get," he said.

"Good," Chin said. "I already met the youngsters. They seem nice."

"They are," Danny admitted. "But we miss you and Kono."

"About that–"

"What? Wanna come back? You know we always have a spot open for you."

Chin shook his head. "I'm good where I am," he said. "But Kono is on the island, too. She's been here since yesterday."

"And she didn't stop by to say hi?" Lou chimed in.

"I'm sure she will," Chin said. "But she didn't want to leave Adam alone in the hospital."

"Oh, so that's who that was," Junior said.

Danny turned to the younger man.

"What?" Junior said, shrugging. "The two of them are something like legends around here. It's nice to finally have a chance to meet them."

Chin grinned, giving Danny a smug look. "Is that so?"

"Told you," Danny said. "We miss you."

"I miss you guys too," Chin said. "Let's get to work. Wanna get me up to date?"

"Yeah, just one more thing," Danny said.

"What is it?"

"Welcome home."

*to be continued*

Let me know what you think. I thought the cousins could help the team.