Pull Us Through - Steve/Danny - PG-13
Author: sylvanelfqueen
Recipient: piwithapple
Title: Pull Us Through
Pairings/Characters: Steve, Grace; minor Steve/Danny
Summary: Steve absolutely refuses to roll his eyes at Danny, knowing it won’t help the situation any. Instead, he simply crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head. “No Danny, I won’t forget to pick up Grace. I’ll be there at 3, just like we planned.”
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language
Word Count: 7,600+ words
Disclaimer: All Hawaii Five-0 characters herein are the property of CBS. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters engaging in sexual activity are 16 years or older.
Author's Notes: I owe a huge thank you to my beta reader, B, for helping me out and being amazing as always.
*H*5*0*
“And you’re not going to forget?” Danny asks for what seems like the fifth time in the past five minutes.
Steve absolutely refuses to roll his eyes at Danny, knowing it won’t help the situation any. Instead, he simply crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head. “No, Danny, I won’t forget to pick up Grace. I’ll be there at 3, just like we planned.”
“Okay, okay.” Danny throws his hands up in surrender before he turns to Chin. “Are you sure we can’t get out of it?”
“It’s a subpoena, Danny. No, we can’t get out of it,” Chin answers, brow arched in intrigue.
“Fine!” Danny grumbles, turning towards the computer table and gathering up the file there. He stalks off towards the door, pausing only to throw a “Let’s go, Chin Ho!” over his shoulder.
Suppressing a chuckle, Chin pushes away from the computer table. He smirks at Steve and Kono before he moves to follow an impatient Danny out the door.
“Good luck, cuz!” Kono calls out, bursting out into a full laugh as the door closes behind him. “Oh man, brah, is he always wound so tight?”
Steve’s fighting back his own smirk and just shakes his head at Kono. When he looks up at her, though, his eyes are dancing with mirth. “Let’s get to work,” he says, making a valiant attempt at ignoring her question. When Kono divides up the case files and hands him a large stack, though, Steve suddenly regrets it.
“Are we really this behind on case work?” he asks, stunned.
“Oh, this? Na, brah! This is only the start!” Kono scoops up her own stack of files and props them against her hip. “There is a whole other stack in Danny’s office waiting for revision and your signature.” When Steve’s eyes grow wide, Kono just cracks up. “All of our cases have to be signed and approved by you, boss. All of them. And we’ve been pretty busy these last few weeks,” she reminds him.
But Steve doesn’t need a reminder; every twinge from his ribs when he moves too fast is reminder enough. They’ve been swamped with cases, sometimes breaking off into partners to deal with them instead of working on them all as a team. And while they had been off catching criminals, the paperwork had been piling up higher and higher until the Governor was calling daily asking for reports. Of course it would serve to reason that the first day they have without a case and plan on tackling the paperwork, Danny and Chin are subpoenaed to testify about a case going to trial.
Steve feels his shoulders slump in dismay as he surveys the number of files lined up on the computer table waiting for them and the stacks sitting on Danny’s desk. Groaning, Steve picks up his stack and heads off towards his office, Kono’s amused chuckles following close behind him.
*H*5*0*
Time passes in an odd cadence. Holed up in his office and tapping his pen against the files, it feels like it takes hours for the clock to make the rotation from 8:30 to 9:30. But then it feels like such a short span of time between then and when Kono pops her head in, rattling off something about lunch. Steve’s so caught up in reading through the reports that he just nods his head automatically before his brain registers what she said. By the time he jerks his head up, mouth open in protest, it’s too late, he can just make out the bright splash of Kono’s orange tank top zipping down the hall.
Groaning in frustration, Steve drops the pen down onto the desk and scrubs at his eyes. He eyes the pile of files still to go and then at the slightly larger “done” pile and decides that he deserves a break. Grabbing his phone, Steve pushes away from his desk and stretches out the kinks in his back as he makes his way to the kitchen. He pulls a bottle of water out of the fridge and takes a long drink when his phone starts to buzz away in his pocket. For a split second, he honestly hopes it’s a case so he can get away from the office for a while. The thought passes almost as quickly as it came, though, when he thinks of how much more paperwork another case will require.
Pulling the phone from his pocket, he sees Danny and Grace’s faces appear on screen and he can’t help the smile. He quickly slides his finger across the screen and answers the call.
“Hey, Danno.” Hearing the sigh on the other end, Steve smirks and leans back against the counter. “How’s court?”
“Oh fine, Steven. Chin and I are having a glorious time sitting here, utterly useless, until we are called to the stand. It’s a blast.” The sarcasm is heavy in Danny’s voice and Steve can picture the wild arcs his free hand must be making as he paces outside on their break, needing to move after spending so much time cooped up. “How’s the paperwork?”
Steve bites back his own sigh, choosing instead to move, walking through the office to stretch. He paces himself with the answer, taking another glance at his desk, at Kono’s, and the untouched pile still on Danny’s. “It’s … going?”
“Are you asking me? Because that sounded a lot like a question, Steven.” Steve can almost hear the whirlwind his hand must be creating, whipping around like he suspects given Danny’s annoyed tone. “I’m not there working on it. You are. Or you are supposed to be. Are you even at the office, Steve? I swear to god if you aren’t there-”
“I am. I am!” Steve quickly interjects before Danny can get off on a tangent. “It’s just … there’s a lot,” he answers lamely. Staring at the work he still has to accomplish is starting to frustrate him so he turns away, turns to face the window and watch the hive of activity outside on the streets. “I’ve been working on it all morning, I swear. And Kono was too … at least until she abandoned me for lunch.”
Steve glances down at his watch and wonders where Kono has disappeared to, she’s been gone for almost 30 minutes now. He’s so lost in thought he almost doesn’t hear it, the unmistakable clink of silverware on dishes.
“Where are you?” Steve asks. He’d assumed Danny and Chin were still sequestered at the courthouse. If he’d known they’d been given a break, he’d have gone to meet them-
“Grabbing a quick bite to eat before we have to go back,” Danny answers quickly, a strange tone to his voice. It’s then that Steve hears it, a quick chuckle before it’s muffled, a chuckle that Steve knows for a fact doesn’t belong to Chin.
“Is Kono there with you?!” he asks, exasperated, and knows he’s right when he hears that chuckle turn into a full out laugh. “She is! Traitor!” he cries out loudly, knowing she can hear him. Knowing the two of them, Kono and Danny are sitting side by side with the phone between them.
“Well, it’s your own fault, babe. If you’d learn to keep the ringer turned up on your phone, you would’ve gotten our text like Kono did.”
Steve frowns, pulling his phone away from his ear and quickly pulling up his messages, seeing an unopened one sitting there from Danny. Steve punches a finger against the screen harder than necessary to close the messages and brings the phone back to his ear with a growl. He stalks back towards the kitchen, already thinking of the yogurt and the leftovers he’d stored there a few days ago but never got around to eating. In his ear, Danny gives another chuckle.
“Don’t sulk, babe. We already put an order in for you to go. You’ll get your lunch.”
Steve remains un-amused and simply grunts in reply. He picks up his water and heads back to his office and to the mountain of paperwork awaiting him. “Well, I’ve gotta get back to work.” Steve drops down in his chair and tries not to sound like he’s sulking.
“Yeah, okay. You won’t forget about Grace?” Danny asks and Steve resists the urge to just hang up the phone. He would if he didn’t know how much that would piss Danny off and how much he would pay for that later.
“Have I ever forgotten Grace?” he asks in reply and when Danny grumbles out a ‘No’, Steve nods. “Okay then. I’ll see you tonight.” Steve doesn’t wait to hear Danny’s reply, doesn’t end the call like he normally would, just pulls the phone from his ear and punches ‘End’.
He takes a moment to rummage around through his drawers for a protein bar, but gives up when he finds nothing. Instead he takes one last swig of water and picks up the next file.
*H*5*0*
Steve makes it through two more files before Kono pops her head through his door with a sheepish smile on her face. He barely looks up from the report he’s skimming through, pen tapping out a staccato rhythm on the next file. It isn’t until she’s standing in front of his desk, dropping a grease-stained bag in front of his nose, that he actually looks up at her. She’s smiling at him, but he can easily read the tension in her shoulders. She’s worried he’s mad.
Sighing, Steve leans back and gives her a half smile, enough to let her off the hook. She visibly relaxes and her smile brightens. Kono drops down into the chair across from him and leans back, stretching her long body out like she’d been the one sitting here flipping through files over lunch. Steve just shakes his head at her and risks a peek inside the bag, catching a whiff of a burger. Danny had to have ordered it because Kono knows better than to mess with Steve’s food. Crumbling the top of the bag back down, Steve moves back to the files.
“Danny wanted me to remind you-”
Before she can even finish her sentence, Steve’s picking up his phone and handing it to her. “I put a reminder in my calendar last night when we first talked about it,” he says, showing her the note in his calendar. “He knows it’s there, he’s just being Danny,” he states, dropping the phone back on the pile of papers.
Kono laughs at that and nods. “Well, my job here is done then,” she states, pushing her body up and heading towards the door. “Don’t forget to eat your lunch, boss,” she states, pausing just inside the doorway.
“Get back to work, rookie,” he quips right back at her. He flicks his eyes up and watches the smile that steals across her face as she leaves.
He scrawls his name across another report and closes the file with a satisfying thunk. Steve eyes up the bag and gives in to it, knowing he won’t get a chance to grab anything else to eat until he and Grace get home tonight. The burger is lukewarm and too greasy for him to stomach more than a few meager bites. By the time he gets to them, the fries are cold and soggy and he doesn’t even make an attempt. Instead, he sweeps it all back into the bag and tosses it into the garbage can in the kitchen as he heads to the fridge for his yogurt. It’ll be enough to hold him until dinner, he thinks, and settles back down with the files.
He’s so focused on the file in front of him, he barely registers the buzz of his phone. It takes him a minute to hear it and another minute to locate it, stuck between two files. As he’s rummaging around for it, he hears a tap on his door and barely flicks his eyes over to see Kono coming in.
“Uh, boss?” she questions as Steve unearths his phone from between the files and catches sight of the message displayed on his screen.
“Shit,” he swears. “Gracie.” He flicks his eyes up to Kono and watches as she nods at him.
“Yeah, I was just coming to get you,” she states, eyes flicking to the clock then back to Steve. “You still have time. You won’t be too late, it’s ten minutes to 3.”
Steve quickly shuts down the computer, holstering his service weapon and grabbing his discarded outer shirt as he moves around the desk for his keys. “Can you get these files over to the Governor’s office for me?” Steve asks, pointing to the large stack of files on the corner of his desk. “I’ll come back and sign the rest later, but these are the ones he had requested.”
“Yeah, sure thing, brah. I’ve got it. Go get Grace.” Kono scoops up the files and nods at him as he rushes out the door.
*H*5*0*
When he pulls his truck into the parking lot twenty minutes later, he immediately spots Grace sitting on the bench outside the school with her teacher. She’s got her arms wrapped around her backpack where it sits in her lap and she’s kicking her feet mindlessly, toes barely scraping the concrete. She’s safe; Steve breathes a sigh of relief. His heart had been hammering in his chest the entire ride over, worried that something would happen to her because he was late. Danny was going to kill him when he found out Steve was late, but as long as Grace was okay, Steve figured that’s all that mattered.
He pulls his truck into one of the many open spaces in the nearly empty parking lot and doesn’t think anyone will mind if he’s a bit crooked. It’s not like he really cares either; he’ll only be here a moment. He throws the truck in park and, out of habit, takes a quick second to deposit his gun in the glove box before he quickly climbs out. He watches as Grace’s head pops up across the parking lot. He knows the moment she sees him because he can see her face break into a sunny grin and she starts charging off across the parking lot. Steve quickly intercepts her, pulling her into a quick hug.
“Uncle Steve!” she squeals, hugging his neck tight. “Where’s Danno?” When she pulls back, a frown is slowly marring her face, one born of worry.
Steve quickly shakes his head to dispel the thoughts before she can even carry them any further. “Danno’s fine, sweetie. Just had to go to court today and couldn’t get out in time to pick you up.” Steve deposits her back on the ground and turns to face Grace’s teacher. “Sorry I’m late,” he starts but the teacher cuts him off.
“No worries! Grace and I were having a chat about her project for the science fair next week.” She smiles up at Steve and hands over the clipboard. “I just need you to sign her out and you’ll be on your way.”
Steve scrawls his name on the last line of the page and hands it back. He quickly turns his attention back to Grace as they start across the parking lot. “So what do you think, it okay if we head back to the office for a little bit? I have to help Aunt Kono with some paperwork and you can start on your homework?” He takes her backpack from her and slings it over his one shoulder, guiding her through the parking lot with his other hand on her back.
Grace nods along. “Okay,” she agrees. “Can we stop for some shave ice on the way?” When it looks like Steve is going to decline her request, she pulls away from him a little so she’s in front of him. She puts on a big pout and stares up at him. “Please, Uncle Steve? I’m really hungry! I promise to eat all my dinner. Pretty please?”
Steve just laughs and pulls open the passenger side door. He shakes his head down at her and goes to help her get in, but she stands her ground. Steve’s seen her do this to Danny a few times, refusing to get in the car until she gets an answer. He’d always thought it was funny until she turned the tables on him. Sighing, Steve nods his head. “Yeah, all right. I think we have time for a small shave ice.” Steve smiles down at her as she squeals out a “yes!” “All right, all right. Get in the truck before I change my mind.”
Grace quickly scrambles up into the truck, climbing into the backseat. Steve is just sliding the front seat back into place when he hears another car in the parking lot start up and slowly pull out of its parking place. He doesn’t pay it much attention; he’s still focused on Grace who’s giving him a play-by-play of her day.
A split second later, gunshots pierce the air and Steve acts on instinct. Grace’s backpack slides off his arm and falls to the ground as he dives into the truck, body moving in between the seats to cover Grace’s smaller body with his own. It takes him a minute to realize that the shots were intended for them. He hears the car approaching closer and he quickly scrambles the rest of the way into the cab, reaching around to slam the door behind him. Grace is whimpering underneath him, a heartbreaking sound, but he can’t do anything to calm her as a few more bullets tear through the back window.
“Shit,” he whispers, and waits until the shots cease before he moves. “Stay down, Grace, keep your head covered!” He pulls himself up into the driver’s seat and fumbles for his keys. A moment later they are tearing out of the parking lot of the school. He’s got one hand on the steering wheel and one hand reaching for his phone in his pocket.
Grace’s whimpers from the back are shredding his heart and it kills him that he can’t do anything for her, but he needs to make sure she didn’t get hit. “Grace, are you hurt?” he asks, voice rough with worry. Most of the shots had hit the passenger side door where he’d been standing. There’s a spike of pain in his calf that can attest to the fact that he seemed to be the target. When Grace doesn’t answer, he risks it to whip around and eye her shaking form. “Gracie,” he pitches his voice lower, softer, and tries again, eyes bouncing back and forth between the backseat and the road in front of him. “I need you to answer me, kiddo. Are you hurt?”
“No,” she whispers, barely lifting her head up enough to meet his eyes. Her face is streaked with tears and she looks absolutely terrified.
“Okay, sweetie. We’re gonna get help, I’m gonna get you to Danno, okay? I promise. We’re okay.” Steve waits long enough for her to nod her little head before he turns his attention back to the road and continues to dig for his phone. A glance in the rearview mirror shows the dark sedan weaving in and out of traffic a few cars back, but it’s gaining on them quickly. Steve presses the gas pedal down harder and darts through traffic, fingers finally finding purchase on the phone. He’s pulling up the keypad when another burst of gunfire rips through the car. Grace’s shriek and the sound of breaking glass startle him enough that he loses control of the truck for a moment and they jerk across the road before Steve rights them again. The phone flies from his grip, landing on the floor between his feet somewhere, but Steve can’t pay attention to it.
“Grace!” he shouts, eyes darting between the road and the rearview mirror, trying to locate the other car. “Gracie!” he tries again, panicked when he doesn’t hear her right away. He hears her crying and dares a quick look back to see that she is still unharmed. He can’t take the chance though. If they keep shooting at the back of the truck, she could get hit and he would never forgive himself if she got hurt.
“Grace, I need you to listen to me. I want you unbuckle your seatbelt and get down on the floor.” Another round of shots pepper the back of the truck and Steve curses, rounding a corner a bit too sharply, trying to throw them off. He had intended to head straight for headquarters and get Grace to safety, but he’s rethinking that strategy now. Going to HQ means driving through the busiest part of town at the busiest time of day. He can’t risk innocent civilians getting hurt in the crossfire.
Grace still hasn’t moved from her spot, Steve realizes when he casts another look back. She’s still curled up against the side of the truck, head tucked down under her arms. He pulls his right hand off the steering wheel and reaches back, grabbing on to Grace’s arm. Instantly, Grace is uncurling enough to grab onto his hand, trying to pull it into her cocoon of safety. It’s awkward and pulls at his healing ribs, but Steve lets her, shifting quickly in the seat to accommodate her. He holds on to her hand as tight at he dares.
“Gracie, I’m right here. I promise I will keep you safe, but that means you need to get out of your seat and get down on the floor, okay?” He risks a glance back at her and watches, relieved, as she unbuckles her seatbelt and wedges herself down between the seats, still clutching his hand.
With his phone out of his grasp and no way to call for back up, Steve decides to head for the less populated areas of town, hoping to shake them long enough to loop back around and get them somewhere relatively safe. His house would be an option but it’s on the other side of town. The nearest place he knows is Kamekona’s and he knows for a fact where the other man keeps his weapons if it came to that. Taking another sharp turn right, Steve heads up for the back roads and mountains. A sedan may beat him on the street, but it’ll be no match for his truck on the rocky, dirt roads.
Once the sedan is safely out of his rearview mirror, for the moment at least, Steve slows the truck enough that he feels safe in turning back to Grace for a moment, checking on her. She’s tucked down safely between the seats, curled in a little ball on the floor. She fit perfectly down there, just like she had last weekend when they had been playing hide and seek and she had declared his truck fair game. He had found her much in the same position after twenty minutes of searching the entire house for her. Then she had popped her head up with a grin when he had given up the hunt. Now she was sobbing and squeezing his hand in fear.
“We’re okay, Grace,” he’s telling her, but as he speaks, the black sedan reappears behind them. Steve whips his attention back to the road and urges the truck faster. The city is rapidly disappearing behind them and with nothing holding them back now, the gunfire erupts once again. It peppers the tailgate, shatters the back window and rips through the passenger seat.
Steve spares a moment to be thankful Grace had listened to him and moved because if she hadn’t- He can’t even finish that thought because it makes nausea rise in his throat and tears spring to his eyes. He can’t be distracted right now. For a moment he thinks about pulling his hand free from Grace’s grip, he’d have better control of the truck with two hands on the wheel as they bounced along the rocky road, but he disregards the idea as soon as he thinks it. Grace is terrified and he is not going to deprive her of the single comfort he can offer her in the moment.
The choice is made for him though, when a moment later another round of semi-automatic gunfire erupts and this time one of the bullets finds its way through his shoulder. The pain is instant and agonizing, burning through his back and chest as it enters and exits in the same second. He loses control of his body for a moment, jerking in the seat from the impact, and just like that, he loses his precarious control of the truck. They jerk one way across the road as Steve loses his grip on the wheel, then the other way as he tries to correct it, but not in time. The tires are off the road and they are plummeting down a small incline straight into a group of trees.
Steve can hear the sound of the truck’s engine roaring and the whine of the axles. He can hear the gunshots continuing to pelt the truck and Grace’s screams of terror before everything goes black.
*H*5*0*
“What the hell happened?!” Danny’s roaring voice precedes him as he storms through the halls of headquarters. When he bursts through the door a moment later, he shoves the door hard, making Kono flinch. Chin is hot on his heels looking uncharacteristically worried. But it’s Danny’s terrified face that feels like a punch to Kono’s gut.
“I’m still working on it, Danny. Lukela is on the line giving me information as they get it.” Kono’s fingers are flying across the computer screen, eyes barely flicking up long enough to make contact with them before she refocuses. “A report of shots fired at the school came in about an hour ago. HPD responded and found this,” she flicks an image up on the overhead screens.
“That’s Grace’s backpack,” Danny whispers, eyes growing wide at the sight of his daughter’s backpack lying on the ground smeared with blood. “Oh god, Gracie.”
“We don’t know much except what we’ve pulled off of traffic cameras and from witnesses. They say a dark sedan pulled up near Steve’s truck and opened fire. Steve drove off and the dark sedan followed.” Kono is flicking up the various videos from the school’s security feed, which provides them with a good view of the shooting, and from numerous traffic cameras. “Looks like Steve tried to shake them before they both left the main traffic camera grid.”
“Who are they?” Chin asks, speaking up for the first time since they arrived.
“We don’t know,” Kono answers sullenly. “We got enough of a partial from a witness and from the cameras to run through the system but nothing has popped up so far.”
Her fingers go back to flying across the table and it takes a moment for Danny to realize what she is doing. “You’re trying to triangulate his phone?” he questions, moving around the table to get a better view.
“And his truck’s GPS,” Kono replies. “I’ve tried his phone several times but there is no answer. I know he had it on him when he left so I figured between the truck’s GPS and his phone, we could-”
“Try and pinpoint their location,” Danny finishes. He plants his trembling hands on the table and blows out a shaky breath. He closes his eyes and allows himself one moment, just one split moment, to feel the choking terror and agonizing pain that’s been creeping up inside his chest since an officer with sad eyes had hurried him out of the courtroom. He feels a small hand land softly between his shoulder blades, a comforting pressure grounding him as he fights with a shuddering breath.
It’s at that moment when the computer beneath his hands lets out a cheerful beep and three heads are whipping around to face the screen. A blue dot appears on screen, a singular blue dot in a sea of green. “Steve’s truck,” Chin murmurs, fingers flying over the screen to pull up GPS coordinates.
“I’ll notify HPD and have units head that way and start a preliminary search until we get there,” Kono adds. She hesitates, phone halfway to her ear, and turns back to Danny. “We found them, Danny. Now we just have to go get them.”
“Yeah,” Danny mutters, running a hand over his face. “Yeah.”
*H*5*0*
The first sound he hears is the hiss of the truck engine and soft whimpers. He slowly peels his eyes open and Steve finds himself face first in the steering column of his truck. It takes a minute for his brain to come back online, to connect everything he’s seeing and hearing and feeling. It’s the sound of an approaching car that has him sitting bolt upright and glancing around.
“Grace?!” he cries out, groaning as pain shoots through his head and ribs. He turns as much as his ribs will let him and catches sight of Grace’s shaking form still hunched down between the seats. “Gracie, you okay?”
Hearing her soft sobs breaks his heart. He splits his gaze between the cracked rearview mirror and Grace’s movements in the back seat. She sits up, shimming her body up and reaching her hands up through the seats to latch on to Steve’s arm. Despite the pain that lances across his chest, Steve reaches around and holds her for a moment. Her tears are soaking through his shirt but he forces himself to lean back enough so that he can keep an eye on her. She doesn’t appear to be hurt other than a smudge of a bruise forming on her forehead. Her eyes are clear and pupils even. It doesn’t mean she’s not hurt, but it eases the fear in his chest a notch.
Car doors slamming snap Steve’s attention back to the cracked mirror. He can see two men moving away from the dark sedan, guns drawn and heading straight for the truck. Instinctively, Steve’s reaching for his gun, finding the holster empty. He blindly reaches for the glove box next, keeping his eyes on the approaching men.
“Duck back down, Grace,” Steve whispers, giving a tug on the lever to the glove box. It doesn’t open. Steve cuts a glance over and sees how buckled that part of the dashboard is, the hatch to the glove box busted and jammed in the wreck. He gives it an ineffectual tug on the hatch, but gives it up as the men draw closer. Instead, he turns enough in the seat to watch Grace tucking herself back down into her hiding place.
“Don’t move until I tell you. It’s gonna be okay, Gracie,” he whispers before he slumps his body back over the steering wheel and closes his eyes.
He listens to them approaching, both coming up along the driver’s side. Good, he thinks, he won’t have to worry about one of them trying to grab Grace out of the car while he’s distracted. Their voices drift in through the broken out window first before Steve can sense them drawing near the door. He stays still, barely breathing, making himself appear vulnerable to their eyes. As soon as he feels one of them reaching in through the window for him, he pounces. He grabs the man’s arm and yanks hard, pulling him in through the broken window, slamming the heel of his other hand hard into the man’s face. While the man’s stunned, Steve grabs him by the back of his head and slams it, hard, twice into the steering wheel, feeling him go limp.
As the man is slumping back out of the window, Steve is shoving hard on the door, bursting out of the car and catching the second man by surprise. The man stumbles back, caught off guard, but Steve’s on him in a moment, swinging a wild fist and catching him in the jaw. They crash down to the ground and Steve barely spares a moment to catch his breath before he is grabbing the man by the throat and hauling him upright. The man tries desperately to fight back, swinging his fists in Steve’s direction, but they barely glance off of him. Steve doesn’t hesitate to throw the man’s head straight into the side of the truck. One hard hit and the man is flopping bonelessly to the ground.
Steve hunches over, hands on his knees as he tries to draw in a deep breath, regretting it a moment later when pain bolts across his chest. He hisses, one arm wrapping around his chest to brace his ribs. Once he can draw in a breath without pain, he takes a moment to assess their situation. His truck is totaled and won’t be getting them out of there. He glances over at the dark sedan sitting perched atop the incline. He knows he could grab Grace and head up to the car, getting her out of harm’s way before the two guys on the ground at his feet ever start coming around. But just as he’s turning towards the truck to get Grace, he sees movement up near the sedan and watches as a third man is jumping out of the car, gun drawn.
Not hesitating, Steve dives to the ground just as bullets start to rip through the grass around his feet. He rolls under the truck and presses his body flat against the ground and waits for the pause as the man reloads. As soon as that pause comes, Steve is rolling out from under the truck screaming Grace’s name as he goes. He reaches in the truck and pulls Grace out from behind the driver’s seat. He is already bolting into the trees, Grace tucked safely in his arms, when the second round of gunfire sounds behind them.
*H*5*0*
Steve runs through the trees as fast as he can for the first few hundred yards, crashing through the undergrowth recklessly. Once he’s sure he’s put enough distance between them and their attackers, Steve slows down. Grace is clutching at him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck, holding on for dear life. She hasn’t made a sound since Steve grabbed her from the car and it worries him.
“We’re okay, Grace. We’re okay now,” he murmurs against her ear and slows to a stop. Steve eases Grace’s hold on him, pulling her back enough to give her another once over. She’s miraculously unhurt despite all that had happened. She’s watching him with large, wet eyes, lips trembling with the effort to hold back her sobs. Steve brings a hand up and tucks an errant strand of hair behind her ear, giving her a small smile. “You’re not hurt?” he asks, watching as she gives her head a small shake.
“Good.” He smiles wider at her then takes a look around. His plan to get them out of busy area of town had worked, but now they are stuck out in the middle of the jungle without a way out. “We’re gonna get out of here, Grace. I’ll get you back to Danno.”
He knows by now that police would have been called to the school and most likely Five-0 has been called as well. A shooting at such a prestigious private school would definitely qualify as a Five-0 case and no matter that, Danny would make it a Five-0 case when he realized Grace and Steve were missing. They can track the GPS in his truck and his phone, but neither of them will be of any use in pinpointing their exact location. It’s a risk to head back the way they came, Steve knows. It’s counter intuitive to head back towards enemy fire, but he doesn’t think he has much of a choice in the matter. He’s not exactly equipped to brave a night in the jungle, especially not with Grace. There has been no sight or sound of anyone approaching them and Steve can only hope that they have given up.
“You’re hurt.” Grace’s whisper is so soft that Steve nearly misses it. He turns his gaze back to her and is amazed when her small fingers brush his forehead. He resists the urge to flinch back, but sees her fingers come away bloodied. It’s only then that his aches and pains flare back to life, when they override the adrenaline wave he’s been riding and crash back into him full force. He nearly staggers with it.
His head is pounding from smacking into the steering wheel. His newly healed ribs are screaming in protest with each breath he draws in. There is blood oozing down his calf from a bullet graze in the school parking lot and blood streaming down his right arm from a second bullet wound.
“You’re hurt,” Grace stresses again, eyes worried as she watches him.
“I’m okay, kiddo,” he insists, struggling to lock everything away. It doesn’t matter how much pain he is in, he can and will bear it. Grace is his one and only priority. He needs to get her to safety. “We’re gonna get out of here, Grace. I’m going to get us through this.”
Steve takes as deep of a breath as he can manage and pulls Grace close to his body again, so he can protect her at a moment’s notice if need be, then heads back the way they had come.
*H*5*0*
When they arrive on scene twenty minutes later, Danny barely waits for Chin to stop the car before he’s tearing out across the grass. There are six HPD cruisers dotting the dirt road, lights shining down a small hill where Danny can make out the shape of Steve’s truck crashed into the trees. His knees start to buckle at the sight, but then Chin and Kono are right there at his side, supporting him, and he finds the strength to keep walking.
By the time they make it down to the bottom of the hill, they’ve attracted the attention of most of the HPD officers there. Lukela is the only one that approaches them though. Danny catches sight of a yellow tarp on the ground near Steve’s truck and fights the nausea that creeps up. He pushes his way past the officers and peers inside the truck. The backseat is empty. The front seat, the dashboard, and the steering column in the front of the truck are all stained and smeared with blood. He makes his way around to the driver’s side of the truck and looks down at the blood stained grass and tarped body.
“Take it off,” he barks out, fearing what he’ll see once the cover is lifted. The cop standing over the body hesitates for a moment before he lifts the corner enough for Danny to see that it’s not Grace or Steve lying there. Relief rushes through him for a moment before the fear takes a hold once again. If they aren’t here with the truck, then where are they?
“The first officers on scene reported finding two males lying on the ground next to the truck, both with serious head wounds. One was taken to the hospital, but this one was dead by the time the EMTs got here,” Lukela speaks up, making his way over to Danny’s side. “We’ve contacted Search and Rescue and they are sending a team up. It looks like Steve and Grace may have taken off on foot into the jungle to escape.”
Danny looks up and sees the way the undergrowth is ripped up and disturbed near the truck, clearly not caused by the accident. He watches as Chin and Kono both move over, inspecting the area closely before they look up at Danny.
“It looks like they could’ve,” Chin supplies. “Steve’s a SEAL, he knows how to survive. With the truck crashed and people pursing them, he probably would’ve taken to the jungle to out maneuver them. It’s a smart move.”
Danny nods shakily, knowing that Steve would do whatever was necessary to protect Gracie.
“The sun is starting to set,” Kono points out, eyes cast up to the dawning pink sky. “Search and Rescue is going to take at least another 30 minutes to get here. We should get moving if we’re going to find them before nightfall.”
Everyone is moving then, scrambling back to their cars to grab bottles of water and flashlights. Chin pulls a backpack out of the trunk of Kono’s car, both of them stuffing it with blankets and water and a satellite phone. Danny can only stand there in the middle of the activity, staring at the jungle and praying that Grace and Steve are all right. When Chin nudges his shoulder ten minutes later, Danny takes the proffered flashlight and trails him into the trees.
*H*5*0*
Somewhere in the last twenty minutes, Grace had given in to the adrenaline crash and had dozed off, her head pillowed on Steve’s uninjured shoulder. He had felt the moment the tension had left her little body, leaving her limp in his arms. He grunted as he tried to shift her weight a little more, keeping her snug against his side, wrapped up in his outer shirt to keep her warm. Her hands were still fisted in the back of his shirt, her little feet bumping out a steady rhythm against his leg with each step he took.
The sky was starting to darken and Steve was afraid that he’d miscalculated, thinking he had taken them deeper into the jungle than he had first thought. They should’ve been back to the truck by now. Even with a headache pounding behind his skull, Steve was sure he had started them back in the right direction. He pauses for a moment, trying to catch his breath and orienting himself once again. It’s a bit difficult now between the sun setting and the limited visibility from the trees, but he manages to locate north and ascertain their direction. He’s about to start moving again when he hears it.
At first it’s the snapping of a few branches, but more quickly follows it. Someone is coming. More than one person from the sounds of it, spread out in a line heading straight for them. Steve draws back, tucking his body back against a tree as he listens to their approach. It’s not nearly dark enough for him to be able to hide and wait for them to pass. And it sounds like too many for Steve to be able to fight off all on his own. He’s rapidly running out of options when he catches sight of a beam of light slicing through the trees.
“Grace! Steve!” someone calls out and Steve’s knees nearly buckle in relief at the sound of Danny’s voice.
He takes a deep breath, ignoring the stab of pain in his chest, and steps out from behind the tree. “Here,” he calls out, but it doesn’t come out as loud as he had hoped. It doesn’t seem to matter though, someone must have heard him because the sounds of approaching footsteps grow quicker and a moment later he can make out Chin, Danny, and Kono racing towards him.
The sudden noise has startled Grace awake and she flinches, clinging tighter to Steve’s shoulders. He runs a hand up her back and brushes the hair out of her eyes as he smiles down at her. “Danno’s here,” he whispers to her and watches as she whips her head, looking around for her dad. Danny’s within arm’s reach now, hands reaching out for his daughter. Steve is quick to relinquish her to her father’s waiting arms and finds himself wrapped up in another set of arms a moment later.
Steve looks down and smiles at the relief dancing across Kono’s face as she steps back. Chin comes up to him too, giving his good shoulder a solid squeeze, face bursting with a smile. “Good to see you, brah.”
“Yeah, you too,” Steve stutters out in a chuckle, but regrets it as his ribs once again protest. He winces, but manages to straighten back up a moment later as the pain passes. He catches sight of Danny and feels his heart swell with emotion as he watches their reunion.
Grace is hugging Danny hard, little body shaking with her tears. But Danny is holding on to his daughter even tighter with his face buried in her hair. After a moment, Danny seems to collect himself enough to look up and take in Steve. His eyes travel over Steve’s body, finally landing on his face. He looks pained as he meets Steve’s gaze.
“Oh, Steve,” Danny murmurs, taking the final few steps to close the distance between them. He manages to unwrap a hand from Grace’s body and reaches up to cup the back of Steve’s neck. Danny pulls him down so their foreheads are touching. His lips are working, but no sound is coming out. His eyes say it all, though, his fear, his desperation, and his undying gratitude for the man he loves, for the man that saved his daughter’s life. “Thank you.”
*H*5*0*
Recipient: piwithapple
Title: Pull Us Through
Pairings/Characters: Steve, Grace; minor Steve/Danny
Summary: Steve absolutely refuses to roll his eyes at Danny, knowing it won’t help the situation any. Instead, he simply crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head. “No Danny, I won’t forget to pick up Grace. I’ll be there at 3, just like we planned.”
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language
Word Count: 7,600+ words
Disclaimer: All Hawaii Five-0 characters herein are the property of CBS. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters engaging in sexual activity are 16 years or older.
Author's Notes: I owe a huge thank you to my beta reader, B, for helping me out and being amazing as always.
*H*5*0*
“And you’re not going to forget?” Danny asks for what seems like the fifth time in the past five minutes.
Steve absolutely refuses to roll his eyes at Danny, knowing it won’t help the situation any. Instead, he simply crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head. “No, Danny, I won’t forget to pick up Grace. I’ll be there at 3, just like we planned.”
“Okay, okay.” Danny throws his hands up in surrender before he turns to Chin. “Are you sure we can’t get out of it?”
“It’s a subpoena, Danny. No, we can’t get out of it,” Chin answers, brow arched in intrigue.
“Fine!” Danny grumbles, turning towards the computer table and gathering up the file there. He stalks off towards the door, pausing only to throw a “Let’s go, Chin Ho!” over his shoulder.
Suppressing a chuckle, Chin pushes away from the computer table. He smirks at Steve and Kono before he moves to follow an impatient Danny out the door.
“Good luck, cuz!” Kono calls out, bursting out into a full laugh as the door closes behind him. “Oh man, brah, is he always wound so tight?”
Steve’s fighting back his own smirk and just shakes his head at Kono. When he looks up at her, though, his eyes are dancing with mirth. “Let’s get to work,” he says, making a valiant attempt at ignoring her question. When Kono divides up the case files and hands him a large stack, though, Steve suddenly regrets it.
“Are we really this behind on case work?” he asks, stunned.
“Oh, this? Na, brah! This is only the start!” Kono scoops up her own stack of files and props them against her hip. “There is a whole other stack in Danny’s office waiting for revision and your signature.” When Steve’s eyes grow wide, Kono just cracks up. “All of our cases have to be signed and approved by you, boss. All of them. And we’ve been pretty busy these last few weeks,” she reminds him.
But Steve doesn’t need a reminder; every twinge from his ribs when he moves too fast is reminder enough. They’ve been swamped with cases, sometimes breaking off into partners to deal with them instead of working on them all as a team. And while they had been off catching criminals, the paperwork had been piling up higher and higher until the Governor was calling daily asking for reports. Of course it would serve to reason that the first day they have without a case and plan on tackling the paperwork, Danny and Chin are subpoenaed to testify about a case going to trial.
Steve feels his shoulders slump in dismay as he surveys the number of files lined up on the computer table waiting for them and the stacks sitting on Danny’s desk. Groaning, Steve picks up his stack and heads off towards his office, Kono’s amused chuckles following close behind him.
*H*5*0*
Time passes in an odd cadence. Holed up in his office and tapping his pen against the files, it feels like it takes hours for the clock to make the rotation from 8:30 to 9:30. But then it feels like such a short span of time between then and when Kono pops her head in, rattling off something about lunch. Steve’s so caught up in reading through the reports that he just nods his head automatically before his brain registers what she said. By the time he jerks his head up, mouth open in protest, it’s too late, he can just make out the bright splash of Kono’s orange tank top zipping down the hall.
Groaning in frustration, Steve drops the pen down onto the desk and scrubs at his eyes. He eyes the pile of files still to go and then at the slightly larger “done” pile and decides that he deserves a break. Grabbing his phone, Steve pushes away from his desk and stretches out the kinks in his back as he makes his way to the kitchen. He pulls a bottle of water out of the fridge and takes a long drink when his phone starts to buzz away in his pocket. For a split second, he honestly hopes it’s a case so he can get away from the office for a while. The thought passes almost as quickly as it came, though, when he thinks of how much more paperwork another case will require.
Pulling the phone from his pocket, he sees Danny and Grace’s faces appear on screen and he can’t help the smile. He quickly slides his finger across the screen and answers the call.
“Hey, Danno.” Hearing the sigh on the other end, Steve smirks and leans back against the counter. “How’s court?”
“Oh fine, Steven. Chin and I are having a glorious time sitting here, utterly useless, until we are called to the stand. It’s a blast.” The sarcasm is heavy in Danny’s voice and Steve can picture the wild arcs his free hand must be making as he paces outside on their break, needing to move after spending so much time cooped up. “How’s the paperwork?”
Steve bites back his own sigh, choosing instead to move, walking through the office to stretch. He paces himself with the answer, taking another glance at his desk, at Kono’s, and the untouched pile still on Danny’s. “It’s … going?”
“Are you asking me? Because that sounded a lot like a question, Steven.” Steve can almost hear the whirlwind his hand must be creating, whipping around like he suspects given Danny’s annoyed tone. “I’m not there working on it. You are. Or you are supposed to be. Are you even at the office, Steve? I swear to god if you aren’t there-”
“I am. I am!” Steve quickly interjects before Danny can get off on a tangent. “It’s just … there’s a lot,” he answers lamely. Staring at the work he still has to accomplish is starting to frustrate him so he turns away, turns to face the window and watch the hive of activity outside on the streets. “I’ve been working on it all morning, I swear. And Kono was too … at least until she abandoned me for lunch.”
Steve glances down at his watch and wonders where Kono has disappeared to, she’s been gone for almost 30 minutes now. He’s so lost in thought he almost doesn’t hear it, the unmistakable clink of silverware on dishes.
“Where are you?” Steve asks. He’d assumed Danny and Chin were still sequestered at the courthouse. If he’d known they’d been given a break, he’d have gone to meet them-
“Grabbing a quick bite to eat before we have to go back,” Danny answers quickly, a strange tone to his voice. It’s then that Steve hears it, a quick chuckle before it’s muffled, a chuckle that Steve knows for a fact doesn’t belong to Chin.
“Is Kono there with you?!” he asks, exasperated, and knows he’s right when he hears that chuckle turn into a full out laugh. “She is! Traitor!” he cries out loudly, knowing she can hear him. Knowing the two of them, Kono and Danny are sitting side by side with the phone between them.
“Well, it’s your own fault, babe. If you’d learn to keep the ringer turned up on your phone, you would’ve gotten our text like Kono did.”
Steve frowns, pulling his phone away from his ear and quickly pulling up his messages, seeing an unopened one sitting there from Danny. Steve punches a finger against the screen harder than necessary to close the messages and brings the phone back to his ear with a growl. He stalks back towards the kitchen, already thinking of the yogurt and the leftovers he’d stored there a few days ago but never got around to eating. In his ear, Danny gives another chuckle.
“Don’t sulk, babe. We already put an order in for you to go. You’ll get your lunch.”
Steve remains un-amused and simply grunts in reply. He picks up his water and heads back to his office and to the mountain of paperwork awaiting him. “Well, I’ve gotta get back to work.” Steve drops down in his chair and tries not to sound like he’s sulking.
“Yeah, okay. You won’t forget about Grace?” Danny asks and Steve resists the urge to just hang up the phone. He would if he didn’t know how much that would piss Danny off and how much he would pay for that later.
“Have I ever forgotten Grace?” he asks in reply and when Danny grumbles out a ‘No’, Steve nods. “Okay then. I’ll see you tonight.” Steve doesn’t wait to hear Danny’s reply, doesn’t end the call like he normally would, just pulls the phone from his ear and punches ‘End’.
He takes a moment to rummage around through his drawers for a protein bar, but gives up when he finds nothing. Instead he takes one last swig of water and picks up the next file.
*H*5*0*
Steve makes it through two more files before Kono pops her head through his door with a sheepish smile on her face. He barely looks up from the report he’s skimming through, pen tapping out a staccato rhythm on the next file. It isn’t until she’s standing in front of his desk, dropping a grease-stained bag in front of his nose, that he actually looks up at her. She’s smiling at him, but he can easily read the tension in her shoulders. She’s worried he’s mad.
Sighing, Steve leans back and gives her a half smile, enough to let her off the hook. She visibly relaxes and her smile brightens. Kono drops down into the chair across from him and leans back, stretching her long body out like she’d been the one sitting here flipping through files over lunch. Steve just shakes his head at her and risks a peek inside the bag, catching a whiff of a burger. Danny had to have ordered it because Kono knows better than to mess with Steve’s food. Crumbling the top of the bag back down, Steve moves back to the files.
“Danny wanted me to remind you-”
Before she can even finish her sentence, Steve’s picking up his phone and handing it to her. “I put a reminder in my calendar last night when we first talked about it,” he says, showing her the note in his calendar. “He knows it’s there, he’s just being Danny,” he states, dropping the phone back on the pile of papers.
Kono laughs at that and nods. “Well, my job here is done then,” she states, pushing her body up and heading towards the door. “Don’t forget to eat your lunch, boss,” she states, pausing just inside the doorway.
“Get back to work, rookie,” he quips right back at her. He flicks his eyes up and watches the smile that steals across her face as she leaves.
He scrawls his name across another report and closes the file with a satisfying thunk. Steve eyes up the bag and gives in to it, knowing he won’t get a chance to grab anything else to eat until he and Grace get home tonight. The burger is lukewarm and too greasy for him to stomach more than a few meager bites. By the time he gets to them, the fries are cold and soggy and he doesn’t even make an attempt. Instead, he sweeps it all back into the bag and tosses it into the garbage can in the kitchen as he heads to the fridge for his yogurt. It’ll be enough to hold him until dinner, he thinks, and settles back down with the files.
He’s so focused on the file in front of him, he barely registers the buzz of his phone. It takes him a minute to hear it and another minute to locate it, stuck between two files. As he’s rummaging around for it, he hears a tap on his door and barely flicks his eyes over to see Kono coming in.
“Uh, boss?” she questions as Steve unearths his phone from between the files and catches sight of the message displayed on his screen.
“Shit,” he swears. “Gracie.” He flicks his eyes up to Kono and watches as she nods at him.
“Yeah, I was just coming to get you,” she states, eyes flicking to the clock then back to Steve. “You still have time. You won’t be too late, it’s ten minutes to 3.”
Steve quickly shuts down the computer, holstering his service weapon and grabbing his discarded outer shirt as he moves around the desk for his keys. “Can you get these files over to the Governor’s office for me?” Steve asks, pointing to the large stack of files on the corner of his desk. “I’ll come back and sign the rest later, but these are the ones he had requested.”
“Yeah, sure thing, brah. I’ve got it. Go get Grace.” Kono scoops up the files and nods at him as he rushes out the door.
*H*5*0*
When he pulls his truck into the parking lot twenty minutes later, he immediately spots Grace sitting on the bench outside the school with her teacher. She’s got her arms wrapped around her backpack where it sits in her lap and she’s kicking her feet mindlessly, toes barely scraping the concrete. She’s safe; Steve breathes a sigh of relief. His heart had been hammering in his chest the entire ride over, worried that something would happen to her because he was late. Danny was going to kill him when he found out Steve was late, but as long as Grace was okay, Steve figured that’s all that mattered.
He pulls his truck into one of the many open spaces in the nearly empty parking lot and doesn’t think anyone will mind if he’s a bit crooked. It’s not like he really cares either; he’ll only be here a moment. He throws the truck in park and, out of habit, takes a quick second to deposit his gun in the glove box before he quickly climbs out. He watches as Grace’s head pops up across the parking lot. He knows the moment she sees him because he can see her face break into a sunny grin and she starts charging off across the parking lot. Steve quickly intercepts her, pulling her into a quick hug.
“Uncle Steve!” she squeals, hugging his neck tight. “Where’s Danno?” When she pulls back, a frown is slowly marring her face, one born of worry.
Steve quickly shakes his head to dispel the thoughts before she can even carry them any further. “Danno’s fine, sweetie. Just had to go to court today and couldn’t get out in time to pick you up.” Steve deposits her back on the ground and turns to face Grace’s teacher. “Sorry I’m late,” he starts but the teacher cuts him off.
“No worries! Grace and I were having a chat about her project for the science fair next week.” She smiles up at Steve and hands over the clipboard. “I just need you to sign her out and you’ll be on your way.”
Steve scrawls his name on the last line of the page and hands it back. He quickly turns his attention back to Grace as they start across the parking lot. “So what do you think, it okay if we head back to the office for a little bit? I have to help Aunt Kono with some paperwork and you can start on your homework?” He takes her backpack from her and slings it over his one shoulder, guiding her through the parking lot with his other hand on her back.
Grace nods along. “Okay,” she agrees. “Can we stop for some shave ice on the way?” When it looks like Steve is going to decline her request, she pulls away from him a little so she’s in front of him. She puts on a big pout and stares up at him. “Please, Uncle Steve? I’m really hungry! I promise to eat all my dinner. Pretty please?”
Steve just laughs and pulls open the passenger side door. He shakes his head down at her and goes to help her get in, but she stands her ground. Steve’s seen her do this to Danny a few times, refusing to get in the car until she gets an answer. He’d always thought it was funny until she turned the tables on him. Sighing, Steve nods his head. “Yeah, all right. I think we have time for a small shave ice.” Steve smiles down at her as she squeals out a “yes!” “All right, all right. Get in the truck before I change my mind.”
Grace quickly scrambles up into the truck, climbing into the backseat. Steve is just sliding the front seat back into place when he hears another car in the parking lot start up and slowly pull out of its parking place. He doesn’t pay it much attention; he’s still focused on Grace who’s giving him a play-by-play of her day.
A split second later, gunshots pierce the air and Steve acts on instinct. Grace’s backpack slides off his arm and falls to the ground as he dives into the truck, body moving in between the seats to cover Grace’s smaller body with his own. It takes him a minute to realize that the shots were intended for them. He hears the car approaching closer and he quickly scrambles the rest of the way into the cab, reaching around to slam the door behind him. Grace is whimpering underneath him, a heartbreaking sound, but he can’t do anything to calm her as a few more bullets tear through the back window.
“Shit,” he whispers, and waits until the shots cease before he moves. “Stay down, Grace, keep your head covered!” He pulls himself up into the driver’s seat and fumbles for his keys. A moment later they are tearing out of the parking lot of the school. He’s got one hand on the steering wheel and one hand reaching for his phone in his pocket.
Grace’s whimpers from the back are shredding his heart and it kills him that he can’t do anything for her, but he needs to make sure she didn’t get hit. “Grace, are you hurt?” he asks, voice rough with worry. Most of the shots had hit the passenger side door where he’d been standing. There’s a spike of pain in his calf that can attest to the fact that he seemed to be the target. When Grace doesn’t answer, he risks it to whip around and eye her shaking form. “Gracie,” he pitches his voice lower, softer, and tries again, eyes bouncing back and forth between the backseat and the road in front of him. “I need you to answer me, kiddo. Are you hurt?”
“No,” she whispers, barely lifting her head up enough to meet his eyes. Her face is streaked with tears and she looks absolutely terrified.
“Okay, sweetie. We’re gonna get help, I’m gonna get you to Danno, okay? I promise. We’re okay.” Steve waits long enough for her to nod her little head before he turns his attention back to the road and continues to dig for his phone. A glance in the rearview mirror shows the dark sedan weaving in and out of traffic a few cars back, but it’s gaining on them quickly. Steve presses the gas pedal down harder and darts through traffic, fingers finally finding purchase on the phone. He’s pulling up the keypad when another burst of gunfire rips through the car. Grace’s shriek and the sound of breaking glass startle him enough that he loses control of the truck for a moment and they jerk across the road before Steve rights them again. The phone flies from his grip, landing on the floor between his feet somewhere, but Steve can’t pay attention to it.
“Grace!” he shouts, eyes darting between the road and the rearview mirror, trying to locate the other car. “Gracie!” he tries again, panicked when he doesn’t hear her right away. He hears her crying and dares a quick look back to see that she is still unharmed. He can’t take the chance though. If they keep shooting at the back of the truck, she could get hit and he would never forgive himself if she got hurt.
“Grace, I need you to listen to me. I want you unbuckle your seatbelt and get down on the floor.” Another round of shots pepper the back of the truck and Steve curses, rounding a corner a bit too sharply, trying to throw them off. He had intended to head straight for headquarters and get Grace to safety, but he’s rethinking that strategy now. Going to HQ means driving through the busiest part of town at the busiest time of day. He can’t risk innocent civilians getting hurt in the crossfire.
Grace still hasn’t moved from her spot, Steve realizes when he casts another look back. She’s still curled up against the side of the truck, head tucked down under her arms. He pulls his right hand off the steering wheel and reaches back, grabbing on to Grace’s arm. Instantly, Grace is uncurling enough to grab onto his hand, trying to pull it into her cocoon of safety. It’s awkward and pulls at his healing ribs, but Steve lets her, shifting quickly in the seat to accommodate her. He holds on to her hand as tight at he dares.
“Gracie, I’m right here. I promise I will keep you safe, but that means you need to get out of your seat and get down on the floor, okay?” He risks a glance back at her and watches, relieved, as she unbuckles her seatbelt and wedges herself down between the seats, still clutching his hand.
With his phone out of his grasp and no way to call for back up, Steve decides to head for the less populated areas of town, hoping to shake them long enough to loop back around and get them somewhere relatively safe. His house would be an option but it’s on the other side of town. The nearest place he knows is Kamekona’s and he knows for a fact where the other man keeps his weapons if it came to that. Taking another sharp turn right, Steve heads up for the back roads and mountains. A sedan may beat him on the street, but it’ll be no match for his truck on the rocky, dirt roads.
Once the sedan is safely out of his rearview mirror, for the moment at least, Steve slows the truck enough that he feels safe in turning back to Grace for a moment, checking on her. She’s tucked down safely between the seats, curled in a little ball on the floor. She fit perfectly down there, just like she had last weekend when they had been playing hide and seek and she had declared his truck fair game. He had found her much in the same position after twenty minutes of searching the entire house for her. Then she had popped her head up with a grin when he had given up the hunt. Now she was sobbing and squeezing his hand in fear.
“We’re okay, Grace,” he’s telling her, but as he speaks, the black sedan reappears behind them. Steve whips his attention back to the road and urges the truck faster. The city is rapidly disappearing behind them and with nothing holding them back now, the gunfire erupts once again. It peppers the tailgate, shatters the back window and rips through the passenger seat.
Steve spares a moment to be thankful Grace had listened to him and moved because if she hadn’t- He can’t even finish that thought because it makes nausea rise in his throat and tears spring to his eyes. He can’t be distracted right now. For a moment he thinks about pulling his hand free from Grace’s grip, he’d have better control of the truck with two hands on the wheel as they bounced along the rocky road, but he disregards the idea as soon as he thinks it. Grace is terrified and he is not going to deprive her of the single comfort he can offer her in the moment.
The choice is made for him though, when a moment later another round of semi-automatic gunfire erupts and this time one of the bullets finds its way through his shoulder. The pain is instant and agonizing, burning through his back and chest as it enters and exits in the same second. He loses control of his body for a moment, jerking in the seat from the impact, and just like that, he loses his precarious control of the truck. They jerk one way across the road as Steve loses his grip on the wheel, then the other way as he tries to correct it, but not in time. The tires are off the road and they are plummeting down a small incline straight into a group of trees.
Steve can hear the sound of the truck’s engine roaring and the whine of the axles. He can hear the gunshots continuing to pelt the truck and Grace’s screams of terror before everything goes black.
*H*5*0*
“What the hell happened?!” Danny’s roaring voice precedes him as he storms through the halls of headquarters. When he bursts through the door a moment later, he shoves the door hard, making Kono flinch. Chin is hot on his heels looking uncharacteristically worried. But it’s Danny’s terrified face that feels like a punch to Kono’s gut.
“I’m still working on it, Danny. Lukela is on the line giving me information as they get it.” Kono’s fingers are flying across the computer screen, eyes barely flicking up long enough to make contact with them before she refocuses. “A report of shots fired at the school came in about an hour ago. HPD responded and found this,” she flicks an image up on the overhead screens.
“That’s Grace’s backpack,” Danny whispers, eyes growing wide at the sight of his daughter’s backpack lying on the ground smeared with blood. “Oh god, Gracie.”
“We don’t know much except what we’ve pulled off of traffic cameras and from witnesses. They say a dark sedan pulled up near Steve’s truck and opened fire. Steve drove off and the dark sedan followed.” Kono is flicking up the various videos from the school’s security feed, which provides them with a good view of the shooting, and from numerous traffic cameras. “Looks like Steve tried to shake them before they both left the main traffic camera grid.”
“Who are they?” Chin asks, speaking up for the first time since they arrived.
“We don’t know,” Kono answers sullenly. “We got enough of a partial from a witness and from the cameras to run through the system but nothing has popped up so far.”
Her fingers go back to flying across the table and it takes a moment for Danny to realize what she is doing. “You’re trying to triangulate his phone?” he questions, moving around the table to get a better view.
“And his truck’s GPS,” Kono replies. “I’ve tried his phone several times but there is no answer. I know he had it on him when he left so I figured between the truck’s GPS and his phone, we could-”
“Try and pinpoint their location,” Danny finishes. He plants his trembling hands on the table and blows out a shaky breath. He closes his eyes and allows himself one moment, just one split moment, to feel the choking terror and agonizing pain that’s been creeping up inside his chest since an officer with sad eyes had hurried him out of the courtroom. He feels a small hand land softly between his shoulder blades, a comforting pressure grounding him as he fights with a shuddering breath.
It’s at that moment when the computer beneath his hands lets out a cheerful beep and three heads are whipping around to face the screen. A blue dot appears on screen, a singular blue dot in a sea of green. “Steve’s truck,” Chin murmurs, fingers flying over the screen to pull up GPS coordinates.
“I’ll notify HPD and have units head that way and start a preliminary search until we get there,” Kono adds. She hesitates, phone halfway to her ear, and turns back to Danny. “We found them, Danny. Now we just have to go get them.”
“Yeah,” Danny mutters, running a hand over his face. “Yeah.”
*H*5*0*
The first sound he hears is the hiss of the truck engine and soft whimpers. He slowly peels his eyes open and Steve finds himself face first in the steering column of his truck. It takes a minute for his brain to come back online, to connect everything he’s seeing and hearing and feeling. It’s the sound of an approaching car that has him sitting bolt upright and glancing around.
“Grace?!” he cries out, groaning as pain shoots through his head and ribs. He turns as much as his ribs will let him and catches sight of Grace’s shaking form still hunched down between the seats. “Gracie, you okay?”
Hearing her soft sobs breaks his heart. He splits his gaze between the cracked rearview mirror and Grace’s movements in the back seat. She sits up, shimming her body up and reaching her hands up through the seats to latch on to Steve’s arm. Despite the pain that lances across his chest, Steve reaches around and holds her for a moment. Her tears are soaking through his shirt but he forces himself to lean back enough so that he can keep an eye on her. She doesn’t appear to be hurt other than a smudge of a bruise forming on her forehead. Her eyes are clear and pupils even. It doesn’t mean she’s not hurt, but it eases the fear in his chest a notch.
Car doors slamming snap Steve’s attention back to the cracked mirror. He can see two men moving away from the dark sedan, guns drawn and heading straight for the truck. Instinctively, Steve’s reaching for his gun, finding the holster empty. He blindly reaches for the glove box next, keeping his eyes on the approaching men.
“Duck back down, Grace,” Steve whispers, giving a tug on the lever to the glove box. It doesn’t open. Steve cuts a glance over and sees how buckled that part of the dashboard is, the hatch to the glove box busted and jammed in the wreck. He gives it an ineffectual tug on the hatch, but gives it up as the men draw closer. Instead, he turns enough in the seat to watch Grace tucking herself back down into her hiding place.
“Don’t move until I tell you. It’s gonna be okay, Gracie,” he whispers before he slumps his body back over the steering wheel and closes his eyes.
He listens to them approaching, both coming up along the driver’s side. Good, he thinks, he won’t have to worry about one of them trying to grab Grace out of the car while he’s distracted. Their voices drift in through the broken out window first before Steve can sense them drawing near the door. He stays still, barely breathing, making himself appear vulnerable to their eyes. As soon as he feels one of them reaching in through the window for him, he pounces. He grabs the man’s arm and yanks hard, pulling him in through the broken window, slamming the heel of his other hand hard into the man’s face. While the man’s stunned, Steve grabs him by the back of his head and slams it, hard, twice into the steering wheel, feeling him go limp.
As the man is slumping back out of the window, Steve is shoving hard on the door, bursting out of the car and catching the second man by surprise. The man stumbles back, caught off guard, but Steve’s on him in a moment, swinging a wild fist and catching him in the jaw. They crash down to the ground and Steve barely spares a moment to catch his breath before he is grabbing the man by the throat and hauling him upright. The man tries desperately to fight back, swinging his fists in Steve’s direction, but they barely glance off of him. Steve doesn’t hesitate to throw the man’s head straight into the side of the truck. One hard hit and the man is flopping bonelessly to the ground.
Steve hunches over, hands on his knees as he tries to draw in a deep breath, regretting it a moment later when pain bolts across his chest. He hisses, one arm wrapping around his chest to brace his ribs. Once he can draw in a breath without pain, he takes a moment to assess their situation. His truck is totaled and won’t be getting them out of there. He glances over at the dark sedan sitting perched atop the incline. He knows he could grab Grace and head up to the car, getting her out of harm’s way before the two guys on the ground at his feet ever start coming around. But just as he’s turning towards the truck to get Grace, he sees movement up near the sedan and watches as a third man is jumping out of the car, gun drawn.
Not hesitating, Steve dives to the ground just as bullets start to rip through the grass around his feet. He rolls under the truck and presses his body flat against the ground and waits for the pause as the man reloads. As soon as that pause comes, Steve is rolling out from under the truck screaming Grace’s name as he goes. He reaches in the truck and pulls Grace out from behind the driver’s seat. He is already bolting into the trees, Grace tucked safely in his arms, when the second round of gunfire sounds behind them.
*H*5*0*
Steve runs through the trees as fast as he can for the first few hundred yards, crashing through the undergrowth recklessly. Once he’s sure he’s put enough distance between them and their attackers, Steve slows down. Grace is clutching at him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck, holding on for dear life. She hasn’t made a sound since Steve grabbed her from the car and it worries him.
“We’re okay, Grace. We’re okay now,” he murmurs against her ear and slows to a stop. Steve eases Grace’s hold on him, pulling her back enough to give her another once over. She’s miraculously unhurt despite all that had happened. She’s watching him with large, wet eyes, lips trembling with the effort to hold back her sobs. Steve brings a hand up and tucks an errant strand of hair behind her ear, giving her a small smile. “You’re not hurt?” he asks, watching as she gives her head a small shake.
“Good.” He smiles wider at her then takes a look around. His plan to get them out of busy area of town had worked, but now they are stuck out in the middle of the jungle without a way out. “We’re gonna get out of here, Grace. I’ll get you back to Danno.”
He knows by now that police would have been called to the school and most likely Five-0 has been called as well. A shooting at such a prestigious private school would definitely qualify as a Five-0 case and no matter that, Danny would make it a Five-0 case when he realized Grace and Steve were missing. They can track the GPS in his truck and his phone, but neither of them will be of any use in pinpointing their exact location. It’s a risk to head back the way they came, Steve knows. It’s counter intuitive to head back towards enemy fire, but he doesn’t think he has much of a choice in the matter. He’s not exactly equipped to brave a night in the jungle, especially not with Grace. There has been no sight or sound of anyone approaching them and Steve can only hope that they have given up.
“You’re hurt.” Grace’s whisper is so soft that Steve nearly misses it. He turns his gaze back to her and is amazed when her small fingers brush his forehead. He resists the urge to flinch back, but sees her fingers come away bloodied. It’s only then that his aches and pains flare back to life, when they override the adrenaline wave he’s been riding and crash back into him full force. He nearly staggers with it.
His head is pounding from smacking into the steering wheel. His newly healed ribs are screaming in protest with each breath he draws in. There is blood oozing down his calf from a bullet graze in the school parking lot and blood streaming down his right arm from a second bullet wound.
“You’re hurt,” Grace stresses again, eyes worried as she watches him.
“I’m okay, kiddo,” he insists, struggling to lock everything away. It doesn’t matter how much pain he is in, he can and will bear it. Grace is his one and only priority. He needs to get her to safety. “We’re gonna get out of here, Grace. I’m going to get us through this.”
Steve takes as deep of a breath as he can manage and pulls Grace close to his body again, so he can protect her at a moment’s notice if need be, then heads back the way they had come.
*H*5*0*
When they arrive on scene twenty minutes later, Danny barely waits for Chin to stop the car before he’s tearing out across the grass. There are six HPD cruisers dotting the dirt road, lights shining down a small hill where Danny can make out the shape of Steve’s truck crashed into the trees. His knees start to buckle at the sight, but then Chin and Kono are right there at his side, supporting him, and he finds the strength to keep walking.
By the time they make it down to the bottom of the hill, they’ve attracted the attention of most of the HPD officers there. Lukela is the only one that approaches them though. Danny catches sight of a yellow tarp on the ground near Steve’s truck and fights the nausea that creeps up. He pushes his way past the officers and peers inside the truck. The backseat is empty. The front seat, the dashboard, and the steering column in the front of the truck are all stained and smeared with blood. He makes his way around to the driver’s side of the truck and looks down at the blood stained grass and tarped body.
“Take it off,” he barks out, fearing what he’ll see once the cover is lifted. The cop standing over the body hesitates for a moment before he lifts the corner enough for Danny to see that it’s not Grace or Steve lying there. Relief rushes through him for a moment before the fear takes a hold once again. If they aren’t here with the truck, then where are they?
“The first officers on scene reported finding two males lying on the ground next to the truck, both with serious head wounds. One was taken to the hospital, but this one was dead by the time the EMTs got here,” Lukela speaks up, making his way over to Danny’s side. “We’ve contacted Search and Rescue and they are sending a team up. It looks like Steve and Grace may have taken off on foot into the jungle to escape.”
Danny looks up and sees the way the undergrowth is ripped up and disturbed near the truck, clearly not caused by the accident. He watches as Chin and Kono both move over, inspecting the area closely before they look up at Danny.
“It looks like they could’ve,” Chin supplies. “Steve’s a SEAL, he knows how to survive. With the truck crashed and people pursing them, he probably would’ve taken to the jungle to out maneuver them. It’s a smart move.”
Danny nods shakily, knowing that Steve would do whatever was necessary to protect Gracie.
“The sun is starting to set,” Kono points out, eyes cast up to the dawning pink sky. “Search and Rescue is going to take at least another 30 minutes to get here. We should get moving if we’re going to find them before nightfall.”
Everyone is moving then, scrambling back to their cars to grab bottles of water and flashlights. Chin pulls a backpack out of the trunk of Kono’s car, both of them stuffing it with blankets and water and a satellite phone. Danny can only stand there in the middle of the activity, staring at the jungle and praying that Grace and Steve are all right. When Chin nudges his shoulder ten minutes later, Danny takes the proffered flashlight and trails him into the trees.
*H*5*0*
Somewhere in the last twenty minutes, Grace had given in to the adrenaline crash and had dozed off, her head pillowed on Steve’s uninjured shoulder. He had felt the moment the tension had left her little body, leaving her limp in his arms. He grunted as he tried to shift her weight a little more, keeping her snug against his side, wrapped up in his outer shirt to keep her warm. Her hands were still fisted in the back of his shirt, her little feet bumping out a steady rhythm against his leg with each step he took.
The sky was starting to darken and Steve was afraid that he’d miscalculated, thinking he had taken them deeper into the jungle than he had first thought. They should’ve been back to the truck by now. Even with a headache pounding behind his skull, Steve was sure he had started them back in the right direction. He pauses for a moment, trying to catch his breath and orienting himself once again. It’s a bit difficult now between the sun setting and the limited visibility from the trees, but he manages to locate north and ascertain their direction. He’s about to start moving again when he hears it.
At first it’s the snapping of a few branches, but more quickly follows it. Someone is coming. More than one person from the sounds of it, spread out in a line heading straight for them. Steve draws back, tucking his body back against a tree as he listens to their approach. It’s not nearly dark enough for him to be able to hide and wait for them to pass. And it sounds like too many for Steve to be able to fight off all on his own. He’s rapidly running out of options when he catches sight of a beam of light slicing through the trees.
“Grace! Steve!” someone calls out and Steve’s knees nearly buckle in relief at the sound of Danny’s voice.
He takes a deep breath, ignoring the stab of pain in his chest, and steps out from behind the tree. “Here,” he calls out, but it doesn’t come out as loud as he had hoped. It doesn’t seem to matter though, someone must have heard him because the sounds of approaching footsteps grow quicker and a moment later he can make out Chin, Danny, and Kono racing towards him.
The sudden noise has startled Grace awake and she flinches, clinging tighter to Steve’s shoulders. He runs a hand up her back and brushes the hair out of her eyes as he smiles down at her. “Danno’s here,” he whispers to her and watches as she whips her head, looking around for her dad. Danny’s within arm’s reach now, hands reaching out for his daughter. Steve is quick to relinquish her to her father’s waiting arms and finds himself wrapped up in another set of arms a moment later.
Steve looks down and smiles at the relief dancing across Kono’s face as she steps back. Chin comes up to him too, giving his good shoulder a solid squeeze, face bursting with a smile. “Good to see you, brah.”
“Yeah, you too,” Steve stutters out in a chuckle, but regrets it as his ribs once again protest. He winces, but manages to straighten back up a moment later as the pain passes. He catches sight of Danny and feels his heart swell with emotion as he watches their reunion.
Grace is hugging Danny hard, little body shaking with her tears. But Danny is holding on to his daughter even tighter with his face buried in her hair. After a moment, Danny seems to collect himself enough to look up and take in Steve. His eyes travel over Steve’s body, finally landing on his face. He looks pained as he meets Steve’s gaze.
“Oh, Steve,” Danny murmurs, taking the final few steps to close the distance between them. He manages to unwrap a hand from Grace’s body and reaches up to cup the back of Steve’s neck. Danny pulls him down so their foreheads are touching. His lips are working, but no sound is coming out. His eyes say it all, though, his fear, his desperation, and his undying gratitude for the man he loves, for the man that saved his daughter’s life. “Thank you.”
*H*5*0*