3 shades of Williams (English)

First Shade (vulnerability)

Deep in thoughts, Steve sat on the terrace and looked at Danny and Grace. They had gone down to the beach because Grace wanted to talk about something important with her Danno alone. It was very rare that she didn't talk to him about her private life first, but he assumed Mike was really serious now. They would probably finally move in together and get married.

He looked down at the beach in time to see Dannys reaction to what his daughter had said and his partner didn't like what he had heard at all.

A short time later Danny took his daughter in his arms again and everything seemed to be fine. They made their way back to him together.

Steves thoughts went back even further. First he thought of his beginnings at Five-0, when he met and then eventually fell in love with Danny. The blond cop he met in his fathers garage had wormed his way into his heart and hasn't given it up to this day. But the road to here had been rocky at times.

15 years ago:

They had just finally managed to get rid of Wo Fat for good and Steve was wheeled away by an ambulance. Danny sorted everything out on the spot, but he wasn't really focussed on it. The last few days and hours had shaken him up and everyone in the team could tell. He snapped at everyone present. The team that was supposed to take over the crime scene as well as the paramedics who wanted to patch up the Five-0.

After a short while, Chin had had enough. They were all exhausted and very worried about Steve, but Danny couldn't go on like this. He quickly went to his boss and spoke to him:

"Hey, Danny, do you want to follow Steve and see how badly he was actually injured?" Chins voice was calm and he hoped that would calm the sunny boy down a bit.

"No, I don't want to run after Steve again and..." Danny began screaming and then interrupted himself. Breathing heavily, he stroked his face and looked at Chin apologetically. „Ugh... ok... You take over and I'll get back to you if I know something new!" Danny said goodbye to the others with just a nod and got into his Camaro.

When Danny arrived at the hospital, he stepped forward and demanded information about Steves condition. The nurses and doctors knew him well, as did the entire team, and immediately gave him information about Steves condition. He had multiple bruises, some broken ribs, withdrawal symptoms, and cardiovascular problems from the car battery torture, but he would recover fully. Danny breathed a sigh of relief. "You can go straight to him, Detective Williams...?", the doctor finally explained and showed him the way to Steves room.

Once the door was closed behind Danny, he walked over to Steve and faced his partner. Steve slept soundly and would probably not wake up until the next morning, the doctor had also explained that. The beeping machines and the tubes in Steves arm made it clear how close it had been this time.

Since Danny was alone and didn't have to pull himself together, he pulled the chair right up to the bed and grabbed Steves hand. For a long time he sat motionless and watched Steve, the man he secretly loved, but which he had deliberately ignored for several months. Steve wasn't gay and would never enter into a relationship on his terms. Before he got any more sentimental, Danny stood up.

He quickly informed the team and then went to take a shower. The reports could wait. He wanted to get back to Steve in the hospital as quickly as possible.

Steve couldn't exactly say what had woken him up, but something had changed. With difficulty he tried to open his eyes, but he only succeeded on the third attempt. He sat up carefully and couldn't supress the groan. He was alone in the room and it was bright, but he couldn't say more. Neither how long he had slept nor why he woke up.