Why Can't This Crazy Love Be Mine? (1/2)
Summary: Steve goes to the bar to unwind after work. He isn't expecting to meet a beautiful woman. He definitely isn't expecting the way his life becomes complicated when he finds out who she really is.
Rating: M (for language)
Pairing: Steve/(attempted)OFC, Steve/Danny (A Steve/Danny story at heart)
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Word Count: App 9300 words
Author Note:
Forever ago, ssbailey posted a bunny which jumped me. I can't find the original prompt (it was THAT long ago) but the credit for the main idea of this (you'll know it when you read it) goes entirely to her!
My cheerleader and good friend Lyndalanz has been kicking my butt to get this finished and I can't thank her enough.
Story is complete. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow. I'm going crosseyed proofreading this. Please PM me if you see a mistake!
Title comes from Tom Jones' It's Not Unusual
He leans back in the booth and takes in the dimly lit bar around him. Until 8pm, it's usually full of families and visiting tourists and the cheap drinks make it a popular date destination. It's not the kind of place he usually comes to unwind, he prefers a sixpack on his own beach over going out, but the end of a long and complicated case, which meant Danny missed half his Grace-allotted weekend, has him wanting to be around people. If nothing else, the shamelessly tourist-aimed, tropical themed bar has plenty of those. So sue him, he likes to people watch. He's found over the years that it is an interesting enough way to pass time when you've got to keep your head down and blend in. And he's gotten quite good at it if he says so himself.
Steve can spot the business travelers from their weary slouches and the tourists by their excited conversations. The locals... well most of them have either ended their night or moved on to stage two.
Steve's attention is caught by a woman sitting at the bar. She is beautiful, the kind of beautiful that renders teenaged boys unable to speak. He can't decide right away if she is here for business or a tourist and he takes a long draw of his beer as he considers her. Her clothes are understated and comfortable, but not unsuitable for the coolness of the Hawaiian night. She has long, wavy hair. It's much lighter than his own but he wouldn't call it blonde. She flicks it over her shoulder as she leans down to get her phone from her bag and he sees that the hair underneath is much darker. Probably a natural blonde then, the top hairs lightened by the sun. One point for local.
The woman makes a call but a few seconds later hangs up and puts the phone on the counter with a sigh. It's then that Steve sees the large bag on the other side of the bar stool. Traveler then. Maybe tourist, probably business. Either way, she looks like she's in a bit of a situation and he decides to see if he can help. He stands up, draining his beer and leaving the empty on the table.
He slides into the stool next to her and gets the bartender's attention. "Another longboard please. And a..." he looks at the woman, "What are you drinking?"
She rolls her eyes at her empty glass and Steve sees that they are a bright blue, if slightly reddened by goodness knows how many hours on a plane. "This was a Blue Hawaiian, but don't trouble yourself. It was purely for the novelty, I am in Hawaii after all and my mother has always had a bit of a thing for Elvis, but it was entirely too...blue... for my taste and it came with this." She uses her straw to poke disdainfully at the pineapple garnish.
"Well okay then. How about one of these?" Steve holds up his fresh beer and the woman shakes her head.
"Thanks, but no. I'm trying to get hold of someone, my flight was ridiculously delayed and what was meant to be a surprise visit at dinner time has turned into me being stuck here without a hotel. I just need to find somewhere, preferably somewhere not a park bench, to sleep for about a hundred hours.
"Maybe I can help with that," Steve smiles and holds up his hand when she opens her mouth to protest. "Not like that, that would be taking advantage of a person in distress and not at all becoming an Officer."
"Oh, you're in the service then?" she asks as she regards him critically.
"Yes, Ma'am. Since I was eighteen. But I grew up here and I know people." He flicks his ID pouch open so she can see his badge, if not read the details. He doesn’t think she’d have heard of 5-0 but there have been more and more groupies since the Governor started parading the team around on the local evening news. "I'm in the reserves. Now I'm a cop - kind of - and if you like, I have a contact who can get you a room."
"Why would you do that for me? I'm a total stranger."
"Because you're in Hawaii and even here park benches are not comfortable places to sleep. Believe me, I know," he grins.
"And...?"
"And maybe if you're here for long enough, you will let me buy you a drink another day?"
She finally relaxes, and even smiles. "Wow, that was smooth. Not."
"Hey!"
"But okay, I'm kind of desperate here and wouldn't normally take you up on this offer but I'm stuck. So thank you."
"No problem," Steve pays for his drink and picks up the woman's bag. "I'm Steve, by the way."
"Libby," she says as she grabs the rest of her things. "Lead the way, Soldier."
"It's Sailor, actually," Steve corrects. "I'm in the Navy."
"Oh, forgive me, for what must be a great besmirchment on your name," she chuckles.
"You have no idea," Steve scowls to himself as they cross the road and he leads the way to the hotel where they broke up a drug ring last year. The owner had been so grateful he’d asked to be able to return the favour if they ever needed accommodation.
Steve explains the situation to the night manager and steps aside to give Libby some privacy. After she's all checked in, he stands awkwardly in the otherwise deserted lobby. "So, about that drink? Tomorrow night, same place 6pm?"
Libby nods. "Sounds fair. I have to see some people, the ones I was meant to be surprising, but I will make time in the evening. It is the least I can do."
"Let me give you my card, so you can call if you..."
She places a warm hand on his forearm. "No. I trusted you with helping, please trust me that I will show up. I promise."
Steve nods. "Okay." And he knows that she knows there are a dozen different ways a cop could find out who she is, the least of which is asking the clerk after she goes up stairs. But he isn't going to. It's a little bit of a game, he sees that, and maybe that is what his life needs right now. After all, he is only human and maybe he can't sit around waiting for a social life to fall into his lap, the way Danny and 5-0 and the rest of the team did.
* * *
"What's with you today?" Danny frowns, contemplating his partner. "You seem almost... I don't have a word for it."
"You don't have a word?"
"No."
"For my demeanor?"
"For your demeanor."
"Not a medical condition you can attribute to me? Or to my face?"
"Shut up and stop trying to provoke me."
"But you won't let me play the radio, how else do I pass the time while we're driving?"
"I don't know, recite the periodic table or something."
"Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium..."
"Backwards."
"Ununoctium..."
"Oh my god, seriously? Who are you?"
"In between swimming lessons, Annapolis gives you a Science Degree, remember, Danno?"
"Whatever. Calm, okay? You seem almost calm today and it's weird. You hook up with the waitress at the Tiki Grill?"
Steve sputters, "What? No!"
"The woman at the coffee shop near your surf spot?"
"No, who are all these women, Danny?"
"The women," he waves his hand dismissively. "The ones who give you the sex eyes and slip you their numbers in what they think is a discreet manner."
"Oh. Those women." Steve nods and stares at the road with an unusual focus. He taps his thumbs absently on the wheel.
"Oh my god, McGarrett. Seriously? You're not gonna tell me?"
"Nope."
"Fucker."
"Yup."
"Did you..."
"You're really not going to let this go, are you?"
"Nope," Danny throws back, because knows how annoying it is.
"Ok, fine. I met a woman, at a bar. She was stranded and I helped her find a hotel room late last night. We made arrangements to meet at a more appropriate time. Okay? Happy?"
"You met a woman. At a Bar. And you didn't hook up with her?"
"No. No, I didn't. It wasn't right," Steve smiles sheepishly. "But she's funny and hot and I'm looking forward to seeing her again."
"You're such a Noble Gas, Steven."
Steve raises an eyebrow and Danny laughs loudly, "What? I can't know science crap too?"
Steve's retort is cut off by his phone ringing. He answers and sticks Chin on speaker.
"Danny's phone keeps going straight to voicemail, something wrong?"
"What? No, It hasn't even rung," Danny fishes it out of his pocket and whacks it a few times.
"I can hear you abusing state property, Detective. You know that doesn't really work, right?"
"I don't know what's wrong. We’re heading in now anyway, you can take a look at it for me."
"Sure thing. See you guys soon."
* * *
Chin shakes his head. "You use your phone as an alarm clock, Danny?"
"No, why?"
"Because it looks like you've thrown it across a room. Repeatedly."
"I maybe whacked it a few times. But... hey, would a 300 pound drug dealer standing on it cause that damage?"
Chin nods. "Ah, yes. You've bent the housing and I can't get it to release your sim card. And did you set a call block?"
"Only on Rachel's number, she's been harassing me since I missed half of the weekend with Grace. How my work messed up her plans with Stan The Man and they had to reschedule. Once she conceded that it wasn't my fault exactly, she agreed to let me have her tonight while they did whatever hell they were meant to do last night, and I blocked her before she could change her mind. What are you laughing at, Mr No Strings Attached, doesn’t have to juggle custody with a vengeful and vindictive ex-wife?”
The grin falls off Steve's face. "Nothing. Sorry. It isn't funny."
"It's a little funny," Kono defends. "Only you, Danny."
Chin slips Danny's phone into an evidence bag and hands him an identical handset. "I'll send the old one off to Charlie, get him to clone what he can and see if he can get the block reversed. You'll be set in a few days. It was damaged in the line of duty so you're entitled to a replacement anyway."
"I already put our numbers and HQ in there," Kono adds. "Just call us all so we can update."
"Great. Thanks. And I will pay you all $25 to keep my temporary number from my ex-wife."
"No way, brah," Kono laughs. "Not getting involved in your love life."
"Hey."
"Ex-love life."
"Better."
* * *
"So, are you seeing her tonight?"
Steve looks up from the form, which he's been agonising over for the last hour and sees Danny leaning in the doorway. "Seeing who?"
"The hot, funny one. From the car this morning?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Danny."
"Okay, fine. I will let it go. If you're afraid of jinxing yourself or something, we don't have to talk about it."
"Good. Thankyou. Did you need something or did you come here just to quiz me on my personal life?"
"Now you know how it feels. But Chin's got a lead on the BOLO. A woman called in a tip after she saw the spot on the midday news."
Steve groans and rubs the heels of his hands at his eyes. "I have to get this lot to the governor today, so you'd better take Chin and check it out."
"Sure thing," Danny nods. "We'll ride separately so I can get Grace from science club when we're done, if that's okay?"
"Of course, thanks Danny."
"No problem. Have fun with the forms!" He can't quite keep the glee from his voice.
"Wait, Gracie joined science club? Since when?"
"Since she decided that Punnett squares were cooler than Angry Birds and started trying to predict colours of babies in an effort to convince her mother to let her get a Mrs Hoppy. We asked her teacher about it but she said that isn't even in the curriculum until 7th grade."
"Um..." Steve blushes, the tips of his ears turning a pinkish red.
"That's what I thought."
"Sorry, Danno," Steve looks contrite at the unplanned influence he has had over his partner's child. "She asked about the different coloured flowers on the different plumeria trees and I was trying to explain how scientists can use... It doesn't matter."
"It's fine, babe," Danny smiles. "Really, she's safe, she's not playing a full body contact sport where she's gonna break her neck or meet boys. And yes I know that the science club is full of boys but seriously, how dangerous can they be."
"I was in science club."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
* * *
Steve dries his hand on the towel at his waist and wipes the steam from the bathroom mirror. He looks at his reflection and frowns.
"Get a grip, McGarrett," he says to himself. "You're thirty-five years old for god's sake." He squeezes toothpaste onto the brush, holding it a little too tight, and attacks his teeth with unnecessary zeal.
All afternoon he's been alternating between hopeful excitement and what he would have to classify as nervousness. Because of a date. And for the life of him, he can't work out why. He's not bad looking, he's not completely socially inept (despite what certain members of his taskforce might like to think). He earned his Smoothdog nickname thank you very much.
But that, he reminds himself, was over a decade ago. He'd been little more than a kid then. Back when a few dates with the same girl counted as a relationship and the next deployment was always right around the corner anyway. And sure over the years some of the guys had settled down and started families, but he'd seen what his dad's job had done to his mother, leaving her on her own with him and Mary all too often. He decided early on that he wouldn't do that to a woman, he wouldn’t get into anything serious until he had more stability.
Even now, he hasn't dated for a while. He isn't exactly swimming in spare time. Between coming home, starting the task force, searching for his father's killer and taking on the rabbit-hole mystery of the toolbox, he's been busy.
And he isn't lonely, exactly. He's got his friends, sure they were colleagues at first but that was only the first month or so. They all started spending time together outside work, the football game was just the beginning. And even when Chin and Kono were busy with their frankly terrifyingly large family, he'd welcome Danny and Grace to come and use the beach or show them a corner of the island off the tourist map.
And Catherine, when she was deployed closer, had been part of his social life, however infrequent. But they'd always been casual in that regard and he's never counted on her to 'be there', nor her him. It wasn't how they rolled.
So a date, not a setup or a colleague from another unit outside his diret chain of command or another department of HPD, it was something he hadn’t done for a while. And he really wanted it to go well. Even if Libby was just here for a couple of weeks, there was no reason the two of them couldn't see each other and have a good time.
With a firm nod to his reflection, Steve finishes his grooming and dries off. He's just buckling the belt he chose to wear with his dark jeans when his phone rings.
"Hey, Danno," he answers and tucks the phone between his ear and shoulder as he buttons up his shirt. “Chin already messaged me, the lead didn’t pan out hey?”
"It was a monumental waste of time. And now, Steve, the Camaro's broken down. I don't know what's wrong, I've called for a tow but they're gonna be a while. I..."
Steve looks at his watch. It's 4:50 which means only one thing. "You want me to go pick Grace up?" he offers before Danny has to ask. He sends a silent curse to the timing of the universe or whatever but he doesn't hesitate, even for a second.
"Can you? If you have plans I understand. You never did tell me when your big date is. I just... I don't want to give Rachel the satisfaction of canceling because of work twice in one week." Danny sighs and kicks the passenger side tyre for good measure.
"It's not a problem, Danno. Just call Grace and tell her I'm coming, okay? Ever since you were in hospital, she freaks out when I come for her alone." Steve pockets his keys and wallet and heads downstairs.
"That's really thoughtful, Steve."
"Don't sound so surprised," he grumbles.
"Actually, I'm not. You're great with her, I wouldn't ask you to do this if you weren't."
"Oh. Okay then. I'm leaving now; tell her to wait up by the doors until she sees my truck. Call us when you get back to Honolulu, okay?"
"Will do, babe. Thanks again."
"Anytime. Bye." Steve hangs up and takes a deep breath.
He really wishes now he'd tried harder to get Libby's number but ohana comes first. And hey, the kid has to eat so the best thing to do will be to go to the bar, explain the situation to Libby and hope for a rain check. And maybe a number this time.
Then they'd get some food to go and head to HQ to wait until Danny got back with the tow truck. He'd secretly ordered a DVD about the humpbacks that spend the summer off the Hawaiian coast, and he thought that Grace might like to watch it on the big screens while they ate. Actually, it didn't sound like a bad way to spend an evening at all.
* * *
Grace comes bounding down the steps of her school, pauses to check that the road is clear, then runs across to the blue truck. Steve reaches across and pushes the door open for her.
"Hi, Uncle Steve," she puffs as the heaves her backpack up onto the seat for Steve to lift into the back.
"Hey, Gracie. Did your dad call you?"
She nods. "Yup. He said your crazy driving finally broke his car and he is stuck on the other side of the island. He said I have to watch you and make sure you don’t get into any trouble."
"Me? Trouble? Never." Steve grins. "Want to get some shave ice before dinner?"
"Yup!"
"Buckle up then."
Grace secures her seatbelt and Steve pulls carefully into the late afternoon traffic. "Hey, Grace. I need to see somebody at 6 o'clock, then we can choose some food for dinner and wait for Danno to call. I have a surprise for you which I hope you like."
"Sounds good." Grace pauses. "Did you have a date?"
"I... Um... What makes you say that?"
"You're dressed fancy. And you smell good."
"You'd be a good detective some day, Grace. Honestly, yes. I was meant to meet someone tonight. But you are much more important so I don't want you to feel bad for even a second, okay?"
Grace nods. "Okay. Is it a secret from Danno?"
"What? No, not really. I didn't tell him but you definitely don't have to keep secrets from your parents. Keeping secrets get people hurt, Gracie."
"Okay. He's gonna know anyway/ He already is a detective."
"A great detective," Steve nods.
"The best."
An hour later, lips and tongues slightly tinged from the shave ice, Grace red and Steve Green, Steve pulls up outside the restaurant and bar where he hopes Libby is waiting inside. He turns to Grace.
"I want you to come in with me. I just need to speak to someone for a few minutes, and then we'll get our food to go, okay?"
"Okay!" Grace climbs down from the passenger side and waits for Steve at the front of the truck. When he's tucked the keys into his pocket, she reaches out and takes his hand, swinging their arms cheerfully.
Steve spots Libby at the bar immediately. Her long blonde hair is tied back loosely and she's wearing a light summer dress. Steve squeezes Grace's hand and weaves through the tables to the bar. They're almost halfway across the room when Libby turns and sees him. She smiles and waves. Steve feels a tug on his arm and realises that Grace, who still has hold of his hand, has stopped. He waves back to Libby and kneels down to talk to Grace.
"Gracie, it's okay. I'm not mad I promise. I..."
Grace drops his hand and sprints across the room. Not towards the exit or restrooms like Steve might have expected, but towards the woman waiting at the bar. He watches, stunned, as Grace clambers up on the stool next to the blonde and launches herself at Libby, who looks completely shocked but is holding Grace securely so she doesn't fall. His brain finally catching up, Steve rushes through the crowd to head off the impending disaster.
"When did you get here? How long are you staying? Can we go see dolphins? Steve has a beach!" Grace is talking a million miles a minute and Steve taps her on the shoulder.
Grace looks up at Steve with wide shining eyes, "Is this my surprise, Uncle Steve? It's the best surprise ever! Does Danno know?"
Steve frowns. "Does Danno know what, Gracie?"
Libby coughs and repositions Grace onto the stool beside her. "Perhaps I should introduce myself properly. My name is Elizabeth Williams. "
"Oh." Steve nods slowly. "So, you're..."
"Danny's sister."
"Aunty Libby is Danno's twin sister!" Grace announces with glee. "Best surprise ever!"
Steve swallows. "Uh, yeah." He clears his throat. "Yes, Grace. It's quite a surprise, isn't it?”
* * *
"Soooo," Libby draws out the word. "This is..."
"Yeah," Steve nods. "It is." He looks at Grace who is sitting at a table a few meters away, chatting happily on the phone with her father who is riding back in the tow truck. Danny had been confused at first, but Grace had begged to be the one to tell her dad about 'Uncle Steve's Surprise' and the two adults couldn't say no to her. Libby had managed to extract the phone from Grace for long enough to offer a proper explanation and now the three of them are waiting for Danny to get back.
"You know," Libby catches his attention again. "You're not quite what I was expecting from Danny's description. He was all 'My partner is going to get us both killed, he's a crazy, neanderthal, adrenaline junkie, grenade toting, NASCAR speed racing insanity freak'."
"Oh god you even do the thing with the hands."
"It must be genetic."
"I thought it was the Jersey."
"That too," she laughs.
Grace comes back to the two of them and holds Steve's phone up for him to take.
"Uncle Steve, Daddy says they're almost at the highway exit so we should leave now to meet him."
Steve nods and lifts the phone to his ear, but he hears nothing. He looks and sees that he call is ended and returned to the home screen. He sighs. For Danny to miss a chance to have a go at him means he might actually be upset about this. Although for the life of him, Steve can't see why.
"Okay then, let's get going." He pays the bartender for the sodas and snacks they've consumed in the last forty minutes and leads the way back to his truck.
* * *
"You've moved again and you forgot to give Ma the new address," Libby explains as they're riding along, turning her body so she can see Danny and Grace in the back of the truck. "And with your phone being broken, I didn't have a way to get in touch."
"I told Ma to just send any mail to the 5-0 mailbox, Lib. I'm never home to sign for packages and I guess I just forgot."
"We'd all rather forget some of the places you've lived, Danno," Steve laughs.
"So, Libby, how long are you going to be here for? I don't exactly have a lot of space. Grace has a double bed in her room and we share a bathroom."
Libby looks between the two men with a frown. She raises a questioning brow at her brother but he looks out the window. "Is two weeks too long? Danny, I can go to a hotel if it’s too much trouble."
"You know," Steve pipes up, "There's plenty of room at..."
"I'm warning you, do not even finish that thought McGarrett," Danny growls.
Libby clears her throat. "Um, I am okay sharing with Grace if she'll have me. I wanted to see the place where you live, I know it costs a lot to live here, I’m not expecting anything fancy. Although, when Ma calls..."
"And she will call," Danny adds.
"Yes she will, and when she does, don't tell her your place is small, okay? You know how she gets worked up. She reminded me five times to bring a jacket. To Hawaii. It's pretty hot here!"
"Tell me about it," Danny mumbles.
"It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't insist on wearing starched dress shirts to work."
"Did anyone ask for your opinion, Steven? No. I didn't. Did my sister? No. Nobody did. Enough with the shirts already, okay? It's beyond old now."
"What the... Is there a problem, Danny?" Steve tries to catch his partner's eye in the rear view mirror but Danny deliberately distracts himself checking over Grace's seatbelt. Steve grips the wheel tightly.
"No. No problem. Just you keep your eyes on the road, how about that?"
Grace looks confused. "Danno, are you mad at us? Because we ate fries and shave ice and didn't have a proper dinner while we were waiting for you?"
"What? No, Monkey. Of course I'm not mad at you. I'm... I'm just tired and you must be too, hey? When we get home you should brush your teeth and go to sleep, it's almost past your school night bedtime."
"Okay," she sulks a little. "But I want Aunty Libby to read my chapter and tuck me in!"
"You know what, I'm pretty tired myself, I think I'll turn in when we get back too. That way I won't wake Grace when I go to bed."
"Yay, it's a slumber party!" Grace grins and Libby can't help but think that at least someone is happy about the day's turn of events.
* * *
"Okay, what the hell is wrong with you, Danny?" Steve asks softly after Grace's door closes.
"You took my daughter to a date," Danny's blustering around his living room, unfolding his couch with much more force than strictly necessary. Steve is sure that Danny would be yelling if his daughter and sister weren't in the next room.
"I took her to cancel a date, Danny. There's a big difference."
"You could have just said no when I asked you to pick her up."
"When have I ever said no to you and Grace?"
"Well maybe it's time you start," Danny snaps.
"Well maybe you should think about why you called me in the first place. You should have called Rachel," he waves his arm dramatically and, caught that from his partner. "You could have called Kono." Steve strides across the small room, suddenly furious. He lifts his clenched fist as if to bang on the front door but then as quickly as the anger built, it dissipates.
"You know what, Danny? I love being part of Grace's life, I like hanging out with my best friend and his kid. I like building goddamned sandcastles. It was not even a choice between going on a date and helping you guys out. But if you can't trust me with her, if you honestly think I would have actually taken her on a date, I don't know what we're doing." Steve turns and opens the door. "I'll see you at work."
[End of Part One]
[On To Part Two]