FIC: Have a Little Faith (7/8)
Oct. 2nd, 2011 04:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stellarmeadowTitle: Have a Little Faith
Fandoms: Hawaii Five-0 and Profiler
Author: stellarmeadow
Pairing: Steve/Danny, Sam/John
Rating: R for language
Summary: How do you handle a threat against your partner when you're juggling work and a new relationship?
Notes: See Part 1 for extensive notes
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
Steve was first out the door, all but running into the bullpen to see two pictures up on the two overhead screens not showing George's video call. The first he recognized as the one from the natatorium that afternoon. The second was a military ID with a photo that looked like the suspect.
"Andrew Wise," Kono said. "Age 42, computer programmer for Naval Intelligence."
Steve squinted at the ID photo. "He looks familiar," he said, "but I spent most of my time with Intelligence out in the field." Most of it chasing Hesse, but he wasn't going there right now. "He was at BUD/s?"
"That's where it gets tricky," George said. "Andrew Wise was in classes 229 and 232. But he's not in the records as being in 225 or 226. However," he added, "there were changes made to those records, so it's possible he was one of those."
Still squinting, Steve tried to remember the scores of guys who'd shown up the first week, thinking they were ready for the challenge, and disappeared before he could really learn their names. "There was one guy who rolled for medical within a week," he said slowly, eyes closed now as he tried to remember. "But that wasn't his name. It was...James, I think." He focused on a particular face. "James...Weiss?"
He opened his eyes to see George apparently scrolling down his screen. "Bingo," he said, his face splitting into a wide grin. "We have a James Weiss in class 225, rolled the first week for medical. He came back in 226 and quit the first day of Hell Week."
"Can you get pictures, George?" Sam asked.
A few seconds of frowning, and George shook his head. "The images are corrupt, which I'm guessing is not an accident."
"He probably corrupted them when he changed the names," Sam said. Steve looked at her, to find her staring back. "You're sure this was the guy you knew as James Weiss?"
Steve looked at him again, letting out a long breath. "Sure enough that it would hold up in court, no. Sure enough to use it to question him? Hell yes."
"Well, if it helps any," George said, "Andrew Wise was born Andrew James Wise. And according to his records, his 'first' time in BUD/s, he quit, claiming a medical problem, and his 'second' time, he got stuck in dive training, and they wouldn't pass him. He turned 30 right after, so that was his last chance."
"It has to be him," Steve said. "It has to be." He felt Danny's hand on his arm, and only then did Steve realize the desperation in his own voice. "Nothing else makes sense," he added, sounding a little more certain.
Chin tapped on the computer table and swiped his fingers to replace their surveillance frame with a different one. "Guys, this is from yesterday, at an ABC Store in an area where there are several cheap hotels. There's a credit card transaction from the same time with the name A. Wise. It's been used a few more times this week at that same store."
"Did he use the card at any of the hotels?" Steve asked.
After some more tapping, Chin shook his head. "But he might have paid cash for the hotel, assuming it would be harder to track him to a hotel if he didn't pay cash." He did some more tapping. "Aha! Wise maxed his ATM card a week ago, and made another withdrawal this morning at a bank near that store."
"He has to be in one of those hotels," Steve said.
"Or a house nearby, or he's just going to that area to throw people off and he's staying on the other side of the island," Danny said, his hand tightening briefly on Steve's arm.
Steve gave him an annoyed look, but the calm, you know I'm right one he received in return deflated his anger. "Fine," he said, "but we should still go over there and canvass the--"
"'We'?" Danny said, sitting up straighter. "'We' are not going anywhere near this guy. And by 'we,' I mean you. We," he said, waving a hand at the rest of the room and himself, "will go, but you," he added, pointing at Steve, "are staying here under lock and key."
"Danny," Steve yelled, "I have every right--"
"Guys!" John's voice rang out, cutting him off. "We'll send agents to canvass with pictures, and if he's spotted, we can discuss who's going, okay?"
Steve and Danny nodded, still having their own little argument without saying a word, until Steve saw something in Danny's face that made him back down. He could handle angry Danny, but the flash of hurt he'd seen was something he couldn't bring himself to cause again.
Danny saw Steve give in and gave him a little smile that managed to be cocky and not all at the same time. "How quickly can we get people over there?" Danny asked, looking over Steve's head to where Sam and John stood near the computer table.
"I've already sent all three pictures to the agents we had on duty," George said. "They should all be in the neighborhood within ten minutes."
Steve glanced at Sam and John. "So we might have a sighting in under half an hour?"
"Possibly," Sam said with a shrug. "Depends on how spread out the hotels are, how fast people answer, if they get lucky...."
"Then we should--"
"Have a conversation," Danny said, pulling Steve towards the door. "We'll be right back," he called over his shoulder as he dragged Steve out of the room and into Steve's office.
"Danny, I know what you're gonna say, but I have to--"
"Would you zip it?" Danny said, voice low and fierce. He met Steve's gaze evenly, staring at him for a long moment. "I know there's no way I'm going to talk you out of going," he said finally. "You think I don't know you by now?"
Steve blinked. "But out there you said--"
"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't going to stop trying to talk sense in you, but I know when I don't have time to bother bashing my head against the McGarrett brick wall anymore."
"So I can go?"
"You mean I can stop you?"
Steve considered that for half a second. "Well, no, but...."
"Look, just...promise me three things, all right?"
Steve nodded without hesitation. As long as none of those things involved getting left behind, he could do them.
"Promise me you won't go barging in until we're sure that he's there and that it's not a trap." When Steve nodded, Danny continued. "Promise me you'll do what you're told--and no, nobody's going to tell you to stay behind, but if someone tells you to get back, and not be the first one in, or anything like that, just listen to them?"
At Steve's slow nod, Danny took a deep breath. "And promise me you'll come back here alive and without any additional holes in you, because you have enough of them in your head for five people already."
Despite the joke, he could tell Danny was serious about the coming back part. "I will come back in one piece," Steve said solemnly. "Somebody's got to make that idiot out there propose to Sam," he said with a grin.
Danny laughed, his shoulders slumping back down to about normal level, instead of up around his ears. "Those two make us look positively healthy in the relationship category, don't they?" he said.
"I think you might be right," Steve said. "Which is...."
"Sad," Danny finished. He grabbed Steve's elbow and steered him towards the door. "Come on, let's go catch the asshole so we can work on those two and their relationship issues."
They went back into the bullpen to find the rest of the team gearing up in anticipation of a sighting of Wise. Fifteen minutes and four hotels with no sign of him later, they got the call they'd been waiting for.
"The Royal Kuhio," John said as he hung up his phone, already heading for the door. "Let's go."
Steve didn't argue when Danny insisted on driving, though he couldn't stop himself from tapping his foot or drumming his fingers on the arm rest as he watched the street lights go by. "Can't you drive any faster?" he complained.
"What did I say about being first in?" Danny asked, but Steve noticed the Camaro picked up speed. Danny still managed to time it so that Sam, John, Chin and Kono were all out of their cars by the time the Camaro pulled up beside them a couple of doors down from the hotel.
The agent who'd done the canvassing was waiting to fill them in. The desk manager at the hotel had identified the man in the picture as the one staying in room 308. He'd paid in cash, which she thought was a little strange, so she remembered him.
Steve checked his gun as the team, flanked by three additional agents, made their way quickly and quietly down to the hotel. The additional agents went to cover exits, leaving Five-0 with John and Sam. Danny tapped Steve on the arm as they got to the stairs, giving him a look, and Steve let the others go first, bringing up the rear with reluctance.
When they approached the door, Sam moved a little further down the hall, out of the way, but gun at the ready. Steve watched from the back as John braced himself just to the side of the door, Danny close beside him. It was wrong, seeing someone else up there with Danny. Even with Chin and Kono on the other side of the door, he didn't like it. It was Steve's job to protect him--they always had each other's backs, and he felt like Danny was exposed up there without him. But he'd made a promise.
John raised his hand, nodded to the others, and banged on the door. "FBI! Open up!"
Shots rang out, bullets popping through the door as everyone jumped back. When the firing ceased, John kicked the door in and jumped back again, waiting for the next volley of bullets to end.
Feet itching to move, Steve forced himself to stay back until John and Danny were inside, Chin and Kono close behind. Only then did Steve cautiously enter the room, just in time to hear more bullets, and see Wise go down hard, his gun falling on the floor beside him.
Steve moved forward then, covering Wise with his Sig while John kicked Wise's gun out of the way. John glanced over, saw Steve covering, and bent to check for a pulse. "Still alive," he said, and Steve turned around to tell Kono to call an ambulance.
Which was when he saw Danny.
He was sitting on the floor, holding his arm, and all Steve could focus on was the blood seeping through Danny's fingers. Steve didn't remember moving, but he must have, because next thing he knew he was on the floor next to Danny, moving Danny's hand out of the way to look at the injury, his hands gripping Danny's bicep on either side of the wound.
"Steven!"
Steve started, jerking his eyes up to Danny's face. "Oh, look who's finally listening," Danny muttered. "I'm fine. It's just a scratch. Which you would know if you hadn't gone all hyper-focused SEAL on me and tuned out human speech."
"That's a lot of blood for a scratch," Steve said dumbly, looking at Danny's shirt sleeve, the bloody rip in it reminiscent of their first day as partners.
"I bleed easily," Danny said. When Steve just stared at the blood, Danny nudged him with his knee. "Hey, look at me. No, up here," he said, and Steve tore his eyes away from the blood to look at Danny's face once more. "I said I'm fine."
Steve felt a soft hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Kono hovering. "Ambulance is three minutes out," she said before moving away.
"See?" Danny said, as Steve looked back at him. "Even if I was really hurt, it wouldn't matter--they'll be here to patch me up any minute."
"Danny...."
"Let it go, babe. I'm fine, you're fine, the bad guy's not so fine...call it a win."
"But..."
Danny shook his head. "No buts," he said. "It's a win."
After a moment, Steve nodded, even if he didn't quite feel as calm and accepting as he was pretending to be. "It's a win," he said, letting his hand drop to rest on Danny's thigh.
Rolling his eyes as if he could see right through Steve's façade--which, Steve realized, he probably could--Danny sighed. "You know what I don't get?" Danny asked.
"What?"
"The first day I met you, you got me shot and blasted through a window, I kill somebody for you, and you thank me by nearly ripping my arm out of my socket. And now you're afraid I'm dying from a little scratch. What gives?"
Steve choked back a small laugh, more of relief than anything. "Well, I didn't know then what a delicate flower you were," he said, shrugging. "Now that I do I'm afraid a strong wind might break you."
"Delicate..." Danny's mock annoyance gave way to laughter, his eyes warming Steve from head to toe. "Delicate flower, huh? You're gonna pay for that one."
"I'm counting on it," Steve said, letting his hand run up Danny's thigh a couple of inches.
The EMTs arrived, and Steve let them push him just far enough away that they could stitch Danny up before pronouncing him fine, just slightly worse than a graze.
Wise was less fortunate, rushed out of the room to one of the waiting ambulances and, Steve assumed, to the hospital. He couldn't quite find it in himself to hope Wise died, but he couldn't quite find it in himself to hope he lived, either. As long as Wise was somewhere he was no longer a threat, Steve didn't much care.
"Hey." Danny's voice was soft, and Steve realized he was staring at Danny's arm, the bandage just showing through the bloody rip in his sleeve. "Think maybe you could take me home before I take some of the lovely pain killers they gave me? I'd like to be able to walk into the house under my own power. Wouldn't want to give you more fuel for the 'delicate flower' idea."
Steve nodded. "Come on," he said, helping Danny up. Chin and Kono gave them a nod from across the room, where they were keeping a close watch over the forensics sweep, and Steve knew they'd check in later, so he didn't bother to go over.
Sam was standing by the door, smiling as she watched him and Danny, Steve realized. He stopped when he got to the door. "I don't think there's much doubt this was our guy," Sam said, nodding at the bed, which was covered in a jumble of papers. Steve could make out a couple of newspaper articles that looked familiar, as well as something that, from the picture and form, looked to be Steve's Naval records, and floor plans that looked like they could be of the natatorium."
"Looks like it," Steve said. He'd want to look through those papers eventually, but he had other priorities tonight. "I'm going to take him home," he told Sam, nodding at Danny. "Can we deal with the rest of this in the morning?"
"Of course. We could all use some sleep. We'll meet you at your offices tomorrow."
"Good. And...thank you."
Her smile deepened. "You're welcome. Take care of him," she said, nodding at Danny, who looked like he was about to pass out without the painkillers.
"I will."
He led Danny out to the car, holding the passenger door open despite Danny's slurred protest that he could get himself into his own damn car without help. As Steve suspected, Danny was asleep before they'd even hit the highway. He managed to wake up enough to get himself into the house, though, and even up the stairs, though Steve followed close behind, just in case.
Danny fell onto the bed, eyes closing. "Hang on a minute," Steve said, and went around to help Danny out of his clothes, putting the shirt aside to throw out. "Here." He fished the painkillers out of his cargo pants pocket. "Take these."
He handed them to Danny, along with the bottle of water he'd brought upstairs, lid off. Danny took the pills and handed the water back to him. "Thanks," he muttered, already falling back into sleep.
Steve stared at him for a long moment, wondering if Danny had really slept the past couple of days, or if he'd just laid awake, waiting for something bad to happen to Steve. He knew if their positions were reversed, he wouldn't get much sleep.
But they were both safe now. He knew he should probably clean up, or at least go turn off the light he'd left on in the kitchen, but then he looked at Danny, curled up on his side of the bed.
"To hell with it," Steve said, shucking his clothes as he walked around to his side of the bed and climbed in, just managing to gather Danny in his arms before he drifted off to sleep.
***
Chapter 8
Fandoms: Hawaii Five-0 and Profiler
Author: stellarmeadow
Pairing: Steve/Danny, Sam/John
Rating: R for language
Summary: How do you handle a threat against your partner when you're juggling work and a new relationship?
Notes: See Part 1 for extensive notes
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
Steve was first out the door, all but running into the bullpen to see two pictures up on the two overhead screens not showing George's video call. The first he recognized as the one from the natatorium that afternoon. The second was a military ID with a photo that looked like the suspect.
"Andrew Wise," Kono said. "Age 42, computer programmer for Naval Intelligence."
Steve squinted at the ID photo. "He looks familiar," he said, "but I spent most of my time with Intelligence out in the field." Most of it chasing Hesse, but he wasn't going there right now. "He was at BUD/s?"
"That's where it gets tricky," George said. "Andrew Wise was in classes 229 and 232. But he's not in the records as being in 225 or 226. However," he added, "there were changes made to those records, so it's possible he was one of those."
Still squinting, Steve tried to remember the scores of guys who'd shown up the first week, thinking they were ready for the challenge, and disappeared before he could really learn their names. "There was one guy who rolled for medical within a week," he said slowly, eyes closed now as he tried to remember. "But that wasn't his name. It was...James, I think." He focused on a particular face. "James...Weiss?"
He opened his eyes to see George apparently scrolling down his screen. "Bingo," he said, his face splitting into a wide grin. "We have a James Weiss in class 225, rolled the first week for medical. He came back in 226 and quit the first day of Hell Week."
"Can you get pictures, George?" Sam asked.
A few seconds of frowning, and George shook his head. "The images are corrupt, which I'm guessing is not an accident."
"He probably corrupted them when he changed the names," Sam said. Steve looked at her, to find her staring back. "You're sure this was the guy you knew as James Weiss?"
Steve looked at him again, letting out a long breath. "Sure enough that it would hold up in court, no. Sure enough to use it to question him? Hell yes."
"Well, if it helps any," George said, "Andrew Wise was born Andrew James Wise. And according to his records, his 'first' time in BUD/s, he quit, claiming a medical problem, and his 'second' time, he got stuck in dive training, and they wouldn't pass him. He turned 30 right after, so that was his last chance."
"It has to be him," Steve said. "It has to be." He felt Danny's hand on his arm, and only then did Steve realize the desperation in his own voice. "Nothing else makes sense," he added, sounding a little more certain.
Chin tapped on the computer table and swiped his fingers to replace their surveillance frame with a different one. "Guys, this is from yesterday, at an ABC Store in an area where there are several cheap hotels. There's a credit card transaction from the same time with the name A. Wise. It's been used a few more times this week at that same store."
"Did he use the card at any of the hotels?" Steve asked.
After some more tapping, Chin shook his head. "But he might have paid cash for the hotel, assuming it would be harder to track him to a hotel if he didn't pay cash." He did some more tapping. "Aha! Wise maxed his ATM card a week ago, and made another withdrawal this morning at a bank near that store."
"He has to be in one of those hotels," Steve said.
"Or a house nearby, or he's just going to that area to throw people off and he's staying on the other side of the island," Danny said, his hand tightening briefly on Steve's arm.
Steve gave him an annoyed look, but the calm, you know I'm right one he received in return deflated his anger. "Fine," he said, "but we should still go over there and canvass the--"
"'We'?" Danny said, sitting up straighter. "'We' are not going anywhere near this guy. And by 'we,' I mean you. We," he said, waving a hand at the rest of the room and himself, "will go, but you," he added, pointing at Steve, "are staying here under lock and key."
"Danny," Steve yelled, "I have every right--"
"Guys!" John's voice rang out, cutting him off. "We'll send agents to canvass with pictures, and if he's spotted, we can discuss who's going, okay?"
Steve and Danny nodded, still having their own little argument without saying a word, until Steve saw something in Danny's face that made him back down. He could handle angry Danny, but the flash of hurt he'd seen was something he couldn't bring himself to cause again.
Danny saw Steve give in and gave him a little smile that managed to be cocky and not all at the same time. "How quickly can we get people over there?" Danny asked, looking over Steve's head to where Sam and John stood near the computer table.
"I've already sent all three pictures to the agents we had on duty," George said. "They should all be in the neighborhood within ten minutes."
Steve glanced at Sam and John. "So we might have a sighting in under half an hour?"
"Possibly," Sam said with a shrug. "Depends on how spread out the hotels are, how fast people answer, if they get lucky...."
"Then we should--"
"Have a conversation," Danny said, pulling Steve towards the door. "We'll be right back," he called over his shoulder as he dragged Steve out of the room and into Steve's office.
"Danny, I know what you're gonna say, but I have to--"
"Would you zip it?" Danny said, voice low and fierce. He met Steve's gaze evenly, staring at him for a long moment. "I know there's no way I'm going to talk you out of going," he said finally. "You think I don't know you by now?"
Steve blinked. "But out there you said--"
"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't going to stop trying to talk sense in you, but I know when I don't have time to bother bashing my head against the McGarrett brick wall anymore."
"So I can go?"
"You mean I can stop you?"
Steve considered that for half a second. "Well, no, but...."
"Look, just...promise me three things, all right?"
Steve nodded without hesitation. As long as none of those things involved getting left behind, he could do them.
"Promise me you won't go barging in until we're sure that he's there and that it's not a trap." When Steve nodded, Danny continued. "Promise me you'll do what you're told--and no, nobody's going to tell you to stay behind, but if someone tells you to get back, and not be the first one in, or anything like that, just listen to them?"
At Steve's slow nod, Danny took a deep breath. "And promise me you'll come back here alive and without any additional holes in you, because you have enough of them in your head for five people already."
Despite the joke, he could tell Danny was serious about the coming back part. "I will come back in one piece," Steve said solemnly. "Somebody's got to make that idiot out there propose to Sam," he said with a grin.
Danny laughed, his shoulders slumping back down to about normal level, instead of up around his ears. "Those two make us look positively healthy in the relationship category, don't they?" he said.
"I think you might be right," Steve said. "Which is...."
"Sad," Danny finished. He grabbed Steve's elbow and steered him towards the door. "Come on, let's go catch the asshole so we can work on those two and their relationship issues."
They went back into the bullpen to find the rest of the team gearing up in anticipation of a sighting of Wise. Fifteen minutes and four hotels with no sign of him later, they got the call they'd been waiting for.
"The Royal Kuhio," John said as he hung up his phone, already heading for the door. "Let's go."
Steve didn't argue when Danny insisted on driving, though he couldn't stop himself from tapping his foot or drumming his fingers on the arm rest as he watched the street lights go by. "Can't you drive any faster?" he complained.
"What did I say about being first in?" Danny asked, but Steve noticed the Camaro picked up speed. Danny still managed to time it so that Sam, John, Chin and Kono were all out of their cars by the time the Camaro pulled up beside them a couple of doors down from the hotel.
The agent who'd done the canvassing was waiting to fill them in. The desk manager at the hotel had identified the man in the picture as the one staying in room 308. He'd paid in cash, which she thought was a little strange, so she remembered him.
Steve checked his gun as the team, flanked by three additional agents, made their way quickly and quietly down to the hotel. The additional agents went to cover exits, leaving Five-0 with John and Sam. Danny tapped Steve on the arm as they got to the stairs, giving him a look, and Steve let the others go first, bringing up the rear with reluctance.
When they approached the door, Sam moved a little further down the hall, out of the way, but gun at the ready. Steve watched from the back as John braced himself just to the side of the door, Danny close beside him. It was wrong, seeing someone else up there with Danny. Even with Chin and Kono on the other side of the door, he didn't like it. It was Steve's job to protect him--they always had each other's backs, and he felt like Danny was exposed up there without him. But he'd made a promise.
John raised his hand, nodded to the others, and banged on the door. "FBI! Open up!"
Shots rang out, bullets popping through the door as everyone jumped back. When the firing ceased, John kicked the door in and jumped back again, waiting for the next volley of bullets to end.
Feet itching to move, Steve forced himself to stay back until John and Danny were inside, Chin and Kono close behind. Only then did Steve cautiously enter the room, just in time to hear more bullets, and see Wise go down hard, his gun falling on the floor beside him.
Steve moved forward then, covering Wise with his Sig while John kicked Wise's gun out of the way. John glanced over, saw Steve covering, and bent to check for a pulse. "Still alive," he said, and Steve turned around to tell Kono to call an ambulance.
Which was when he saw Danny.
He was sitting on the floor, holding his arm, and all Steve could focus on was the blood seeping through Danny's fingers. Steve didn't remember moving, but he must have, because next thing he knew he was on the floor next to Danny, moving Danny's hand out of the way to look at the injury, his hands gripping Danny's bicep on either side of the wound.
"Steven!"
Steve started, jerking his eyes up to Danny's face. "Oh, look who's finally listening," Danny muttered. "I'm fine. It's just a scratch. Which you would know if you hadn't gone all hyper-focused SEAL on me and tuned out human speech."
"That's a lot of blood for a scratch," Steve said dumbly, looking at Danny's shirt sleeve, the bloody rip in it reminiscent of their first day as partners.
"I bleed easily," Danny said. When Steve just stared at the blood, Danny nudged him with his knee. "Hey, look at me. No, up here," he said, and Steve tore his eyes away from the blood to look at Danny's face once more. "I said I'm fine."
Steve felt a soft hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Kono hovering. "Ambulance is three minutes out," she said before moving away.
"See?" Danny said, as Steve looked back at him. "Even if I was really hurt, it wouldn't matter--they'll be here to patch me up any minute."
"Danny...."
"Let it go, babe. I'm fine, you're fine, the bad guy's not so fine...call it a win."
"But..."
Danny shook his head. "No buts," he said. "It's a win."
After a moment, Steve nodded, even if he didn't quite feel as calm and accepting as he was pretending to be. "It's a win," he said, letting his hand drop to rest on Danny's thigh.
Rolling his eyes as if he could see right through Steve's façade--which, Steve realized, he probably could--Danny sighed. "You know what I don't get?" Danny asked.
"What?"
"The first day I met you, you got me shot and blasted through a window, I kill somebody for you, and you thank me by nearly ripping my arm out of my socket. And now you're afraid I'm dying from a little scratch. What gives?"
Steve choked back a small laugh, more of relief than anything. "Well, I didn't know then what a delicate flower you were," he said, shrugging. "Now that I do I'm afraid a strong wind might break you."
"Delicate..." Danny's mock annoyance gave way to laughter, his eyes warming Steve from head to toe. "Delicate flower, huh? You're gonna pay for that one."
"I'm counting on it," Steve said, letting his hand run up Danny's thigh a couple of inches.
The EMTs arrived, and Steve let them push him just far enough away that they could stitch Danny up before pronouncing him fine, just slightly worse than a graze.
Wise was less fortunate, rushed out of the room to one of the waiting ambulances and, Steve assumed, to the hospital. He couldn't quite find it in himself to hope Wise died, but he couldn't quite find it in himself to hope he lived, either. As long as Wise was somewhere he was no longer a threat, Steve didn't much care.
"Hey." Danny's voice was soft, and Steve realized he was staring at Danny's arm, the bandage just showing through the bloody rip in his sleeve. "Think maybe you could take me home before I take some of the lovely pain killers they gave me? I'd like to be able to walk into the house under my own power. Wouldn't want to give you more fuel for the 'delicate flower' idea."
Steve nodded. "Come on," he said, helping Danny up. Chin and Kono gave them a nod from across the room, where they were keeping a close watch over the forensics sweep, and Steve knew they'd check in later, so he didn't bother to go over.
Sam was standing by the door, smiling as she watched him and Danny, Steve realized. He stopped when he got to the door. "I don't think there's much doubt this was our guy," Sam said, nodding at the bed, which was covered in a jumble of papers. Steve could make out a couple of newspaper articles that looked familiar, as well as something that, from the picture and form, looked to be Steve's Naval records, and floor plans that looked like they could be of the natatorium."
"Looks like it," Steve said. He'd want to look through those papers eventually, but he had other priorities tonight. "I'm going to take him home," he told Sam, nodding at Danny. "Can we deal with the rest of this in the morning?"
"Of course. We could all use some sleep. We'll meet you at your offices tomorrow."
"Good. And...thank you."
Her smile deepened. "You're welcome. Take care of him," she said, nodding at Danny, who looked like he was about to pass out without the painkillers.
"I will."
He led Danny out to the car, holding the passenger door open despite Danny's slurred protest that he could get himself into his own damn car without help. As Steve suspected, Danny was asleep before they'd even hit the highway. He managed to wake up enough to get himself into the house, though, and even up the stairs, though Steve followed close behind, just in case.
Danny fell onto the bed, eyes closing. "Hang on a minute," Steve said, and went around to help Danny out of his clothes, putting the shirt aside to throw out. "Here." He fished the painkillers out of his cargo pants pocket. "Take these."
He handed them to Danny, along with the bottle of water he'd brought upstairs, lid off. Danny took the pills and handed the water back to him. "Thanks," he muttered, already falling back into sleep.
Steve stared at him for a long moment, wondering if Danny had really slept the past couple of days, or if he'd just laid awake, waiting for something bad to happen to Steve. He knew if their positions were reversed, he wouldn't get much sleep.
But they were both safe now. He knew he should probably clean up, or at least go turn off the light he'd left on in the kitchen, but then he looked at Danny, curled up on his side of the bed.
"To hell with it," Steve said, shucking his clothes as he walked around to his side of the bed and climbed in, just managing to gather Danny in his arms before he drifted off to sleep.
***
Chapter 8
