Title: The Loss of Love
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0
Characters: Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett
Pairing: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Rating: Teen
Beta: KaitouYahiko
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Summary: Danny awakens from a dream realizing he wants to spend the rest of his life with Steve, but something goes terribly wrong.

Chapter 6

Danny slept like a rock for the next few hours, but when he woke up, his arms and legs were throbbing in a pain that he remembered when he first was beaten. He couldn’t move anything without feeling an excruciating amount of pain. He looked around, trying to find anyone in the room, but when he couldn’t, he began to panic. Then something occurred to him. This room was one he recognized. He’d stayed here a number of times over the last couple years, when he couldn’t find any apartments to rent. This room was in the house of the man who never wanted contact with Danny again – Steve McGarrett.

He wondered why he was here. He could have gotten supervision at Kono’s place, where all of his stuff was, or even at Chin’s place. Why did he have to be here? This place would cause too much emotional pain for Danny, seeing Steve’s “Death Face” all the time, and knowing he’d put it there. He reached around to the small bedside table for the prescription pain meds that had been filled while he slept and popped a couple in his mouth, getting the glass of water that was next to it to wash the meds down. Slowly, he got out of bed, found a cane had been placed in the room for him, and he hobbled down the stairs to see Steve in the kitchen, making dinner.

“Why am I here?”

Danny quickly got to the point, knowing in his heart he was never welcome here again.

“You were badly injured, and so I volunteered to take care of you until you’re back to full health again. Why? Do you want to go somewhere else?”

Danny was puzzled. Steve had volunteered to take care of him? And he was asking him if he wanted to go somewhere else? This made no sense. Danny should have been forced to go somewhere else. He shouldn’t have been welcome back into this house after what he had done.

“Steven, you know very well why I am asking that. You don’t have to force yourself to take care of me. I don’t work for you anymore, I don’t live here anymore, and I am not…your boyfriend anymore. You don’t have to do any of this. So I’ll ask again – why am I here?”

Steve turned the stove down, the scent of chicken soup floated in the air. He turned around and lightly hugged Danny, being extremely careful of any injuries Danny had, especially the broken arm. He clung to him and Danny began to wonder what had happened while he was kidnapped; something had changed. Steve helped Danny sit down on the couch and propped his legs up, as Steve sat down in one of the chairs in the living room.

“Danny, I really don’t know what to do. I still love you, but what you did…you hurt me in a way I never thought possible. You betrayed every bit of trust I had in you, but when you handed me your resignation, I realized that even though I didn’t want to be with you, I still loved you…and when you were kidnapped…they showed that video. You were out cold. To demonstrate, they beat you; you bled, and I was scared. I had never been that scared. Even though I’d told you I didn’t want you anymore, I’d realized I still need you, but I might never have you again.”

Danny looked at Steve, and Steve’s eyes began to water until he spoke again.

“Danny, we have to talk. I cannot just pretend I didn’t see anything on that morning. Please tell me what the fuck you were thinking. Why did you do that?”

Danny couldn’t believe it. Last week, Steve was not willing to hear anything out from Danny, but now, he was giving Danny a chance to explain? Had Steve really been that scared? Danny had never seen Super SEAL this scared before, but something about him seemed shaken, and Danny knew right then that he had a chance to make things right with Steve.

“I…I cannot tell you what I was thinking – and don’t you interrupt me; I’m not done! I can’t tell you because I don’t even know what I was thinking. I woke up that morning, thinking about how I want to be with you forever, and then I was with Rachel. I don’t know why I was with her, but I knew then I’d fucked up big time. I tried talking to Chin, and he thought I should tell you what happened, and maybe we’d get on the right track again. Look, babe, I really mean this when I say that there will be nobody else. Not ever. I had this affair, and I feel like shit. I don’t want anyone else, and even if you don’t take me back, I’m never going to want anyone else. I only want you.”

Steve looked angry, but not emotionless, so Danny counted that as a win. Hell, he’d be more worried if Steve was happy, since that’s not how you act to a lover, if he could even be called that, who just admitted infidelity. Steve opened his mouth, then closed it, thinking some more. He repeated this a couple more times, and Danny could see he was deep in thought.

“Nobody else? Can I trust you again? I tried that once, and look how it turned out. I found you in bed with Rachel. Danny, I really want to give you another chance, but I’m going to need to have some time. I don’t want this to ever happen again. I’m letting you stay here because I know where you’ll be all the time. I know you’re not with anyone else – only me, but I’m really going to need some time to process this.”

Finally, Steve spoke and Danny’s heart leaped. Steve might be giving him another shot. He might be allowed back into Steve’s life again. Danny knew deep down that he didn’t deserve it, but he didn’t care. He was miserable, and he was desperate for happiness. He wanted Steve back so badly, and if Steve was willing to take him back after what he’d done, he was okay with that.

“Thank you, Steve; I don’t deserve this, but really, thank you. I know you haven’t said yes yet, but even giving a chance is more than I deserve.”

As if his body sensed the proper time to interrupt this important moment, Danny’s stomach growled, and Steve smirked. Danny scowled at his body for doing this to him, but Steve got up and went back to the kitchen.

“Soup’s ready. You think you can hold anything down?”

Danny smirked at Steve. He’d not eaten much since before this whole mess had started…since he started this whole mess. His smirk quickly died down, and he just nodded, still feeling quite a bit guilty about his infidelity. As Steve brought the bowl of soup, Danny noticed his face had gotten a bit more serious as well; Steve leaned in and kissed Danny on the forehead.

“Eat up, rest, and we’ll figure this out later.” Steve smirked again. “By the way, Danny?” Danny looked up at him. “Your apology is noted…acceptance is pending.”

Danny couldn’t hold back the grin from his face. At this moment, he knew things would be okay. It would be a long time before everything would be back to normal, but at this moment, he could only smile and laugh as Steve became a doting…boyfriend…Danny had no idea what to call Steve at this moment, but everything was as good as it could be.

The weeks went by fairly quickly, and Danny’s bones were healing nicely. He continued resting as much as possible, as the bones there were still quite tender. The pain had gone down significantly, and Steve was getting ready to take him to the doctor for his checkup. This would be his first checkup with Steve, as Danny had to get rides from Chin every other time, since Steve was always drowned in paperwork after Danny had to leave. When they got to the doctor’s office, the doctor smiled at Danny.

“Detective Williams, it’s good to see you up on your feet! How are those physical therapy exercises I gave you?”

“Pretty good, Doc. I’m able to do all of them now, and Steve helps me move around the house if needed.”

The doctor opened the door to her office, and motioned Danny inside. When Steve tried to walk in with him, she stopped him.

“I’m sorry sir. This is going to be a private discussion with my patient. You’ll have to wait outside.”

Danny was about to stop her, when he saw Steve scowl.

“Danny is my boyfriend, and I would like to be in there so I can help with his recovery as much as possible.”

Danny was stunned. Steve just called him his boyfriend. Danny didn’t even realize that he was crying until Steve looked at him with one of his faces that distinctly displayed his curiosity. He walked over, wrapped his arms around Steve, and gave him a kiss that he would never forget. Gentle, warm, wet (due to his own tears), and loving, Danny wished this moment would never end.

The doctor finally allowed Steve in, and advised them both on tips to speed up Danny’s healing. They walked back to the car, holding each other’s hand.

“So, Steven, when were you going to tell me about your decision?”

“Well, Daniel, I thought I’d make you wait it out a bit longer, just to see how you’d fair. After all, I figured you’d be waiting for me no matter what, since that is what you promised me.”

Steve leaned down and kissed the top of Danny’s head.

“Also, Danny? There is something I need to know.”

Danny looked up at Steve. He wondered what his boyfriend was going to say. It seemed like a serious topic for him to go from loving to serious so quickly, but with Steve, he learned not to rush things.

“When you were telling me what was going on that night, you said you woke up ready to spend the rest of your life with me. Mind telling me what you meant by that?”

Danny froze. He knew that it wasn’t the right time for a proposal right now; in fact, the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind with everything that had happened. But he decided that coming clean would probably be best, since he hoped that it wasn’t completely off the table.

“That night, I had a dream. I was taking you on a honeymoon to New Jersey. We were just opening the honeymoon suite, when I woke up. I leaned closer to who I thought was you at the time, finding her instead.”

Steve frowned, but it wasn’t an angry frown; it seemed more jealous but also thoughtful.

“You were going to propose that morning, right?”

Danny could only nod.

“Danny, after all that’s happened, I want to say yes…” Danny’s heart sank, fearing the words that were going to come out of Steve’s mouth. Steve glanced down at him, like he could sense the discomfort in his partner’s face, and he grinned. The bastard grinned. What was he trying to do? Give Danny a heart attack?! “But how about this? I won’t say no.”

Danny’s heart was beating loudly in his ears as he looked at Steve’s face. He hadn’t said yes, but he won’t say no. That was the best news Danny had heard in a long time. He kissed his boyfriend swiftly and passionately.

“We’ll work on us first, then when the time is right, we’ll get married. Danny, I want to spend my life with you as well, but I cannot say yes just yet. I need some time. I love you so much, and we’re going to make it through this. I promise.”

Danny’s tears reemerged from his eyes as he continued holding Steve. The future was bright for them, and Danny couldn’t wait to call his sisters and mother back home to tell them the good news. They had been hounding him for information and scolding him for the thing with Rachel the whole time since his recovery started. He needed to give them to good news that he and Steve were back together, and marriage was not off the table, though it wasn’t going to be happening any time soon. Grace needed to know as well, and he hoped that she would finally forgive him for this, since he and Uncle Steve were finally back together. This time, however, Danny Williams was a changed man; he wouldn’t be fucking this up twice. He was in this for the long run, and he’d wait as long as Steve needed to be ready to marry. Until then, well, it was going to be a fun ride, like everything is with one Steve McGarrett.