darth_stitch | Hawaii Five-0 FIC (WIP): Sunlight Part IB

Part IA Here

Sunlight

PART II

Danny was prepared to chalk this year's Halloween as a success in his book.

His baby girl was blissed out on candy and she had managed to score the mother of all candy hauls. Danny noticed that Grace tended to walk away with more candy if Steve was the one standing with her at the door. The math was pretty simple:

Cute Little Girl plus Cute Not-So-Little Boy meant that Resistance Was Futile.

Danny did his level best to manage his daughter's sugar intake. In the meantime, Grace was generous enough to share part of her considerable haul with the rest of the team, with a sizable portion for her Uncle Steve, who was perfectly happy to be the Mysterious Madam Gracie's Faithful Non-Sparkly Vampire Assistant.

Steve on a sugar-high was comedy gold. Danny made sure that he'd taken plenty of pictures of his daughter and partner to share with his family back on the mainland. He'd be holding this over Steve's head for months! Not that Kono and the others were any better.

Well, they all deserved the chance to relax and have some fun for a change. They had been working hard for the better part of the year, overcoming the stigma of being associated with Jameson's dubious administration, Steve's near-disastrous actions over learning her real relationship with Wo Fat and Internal Affairs just lying in wait for all of them to make one more wrong move so they could close in and end Five-0. It didn't help that it took a long time for the new Governor to even come close to warming up to them and only because he had every desire to win the upcoming elections and secure his position.

The Governor had also apparently gone all out for his Halloween ball. The ball was being held at this newly opened club with the odd name of "Club Denial." The club overlooked the beach and they'd put up tents to
accommodate the crowd. Somebody had gotten clever and had set things up in such a way that the whole venue looked like a haunted house. The kids loved it and little ones were running all over the place, watched over by the indulgent eyes of the entire Honolulu Police Department, not to mention the Club's staff. The music was pretty good – somebody in a pirate costume was doing a Bon Jovi cover when they'd arrived and wasn't half bad at it.

Spooky squealed when she saw the club's owner. "Uncle Morrie!"

Huh. Apparently, she knew the guy.

The man smiled and walked over to their group. Spooky introduced him as Morris Bauman – apparently, he was handling the hosting duties in the Governor's stead. There was something about Bauman that Danny couldn't put his finger on but he just wasn't sure what that was. Morris Bauman didn't come off as the typical slick, smooth-talking fellow Danny would expect to be running places like this. He was a tall, well-dressed man, possibly in his early 40s, with dark hair, a calm demeanor and a sharp, observant gaze.

A man of respect, Danny thought and abruptly remembered one of his grandfathers. Grandpa Vito Corleone was both well-respected and well-loved in the old neighborhood back in the day, never mind the whispers about "the Family business" which his Uncle Michael handled now. Bauman was something like that, without going straight over into bad Mafia movie territory.

Danny really didn't want to think too closely about Uncle Michael and the business on that side of his large, crazy family.

Bauman greeted them congenially enough although Danny didn't miss the subtle double-take he did when he first saw Steve. Danny didn't miss the look he shot Spooky, either. Or the way his eyes kept flicking back to Steve the entire time they were talking.

"I need a singer tonight, Spooky-girl," Bauman said. "I'd gotten Met—er… I mean, Adam to do the next set
but he's running a bit late. You feel up to it?"

"I'll be there with bells on, Morrie," Spooky said cheerfully enough. At the very interested looks from the rest of the team, she blushed and said, "Um – I sing part time?"

"She's done a good job covering for us," Bauman said easily. "Enjoy yourselves – there's a lot of stuff here for the kids right now but we've got something for everyone." He and Spooky excused themselves and walked on over to the stage.

Danny could see what he meant. Most of the kids were sensibly jumping, climbing and running all over the designated play areas – there were a couple of those huge, blow-up castles where kids could slide right into those pits with the rubber balls in them.

Naturally, Grace took one look at them and then Danny was assaulted by three pairs of puppy eyes – Grace, Steve and Kono.

Danny tried, he really did. "Steve, babe, you realize you're not allowed to play in those things right?"

"Silly Danno – Steve and Kono are gonna watch over me!" Grace said indignantly.

"What she said!" Steve said, with his megawatt goofy grin on. "Also, I'm taking pictures."

"Face it, Other-Boss," Kono cackled. "You're outnumbered!"

"Go, go – we grown-ups are gonna grab a drink and enjoy ourselves like sensible people, right, Chin?"

Chin shrugged. "I don't know – the playground looks mighty tempting."

Danny threw up his hands in exasperation. As usual, he was the only sane person in the group.

Danny wandered over to the bar – he wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to get a beer and maybe something to eat that wasn't sugary. He'd be joining the others soon enough; it wasn't as if he could bear to be parted from his Monkey's company for very long. But for the moment, he took some time to check out this club.

Just like its owner, there was something about the place that scratched at Danny's cop instincts. Danny was good with words but for once, he just couldn't find a way to put a name or description on how he felt. It wasn't a sense of danger, obviously – he wouldn't have let Grace get a mile of this place if that were the case.

It was just odd.

There was something about the Club's staff that was just plain weird. Danny knew who the cops were and everyone was in costume. It was kind of funny how many secret geeks were there in the police force – the number of Jedi, Starfleet officers and other fantasy characters wandering about, aside from the traditional spooks, was just staggering.

So Danny checked out this tiny redhead in the samurai gear watching cheerfully over the kids. High ponytail, magenta kimono and those white skirt-like pants, delicate girlish features and unusual violet eyes – Danny would've taken him for a girl. Honestly, what sane guy wears magenta? But he looked closer and no, this one was definitely a man, albeit a very pretty one. The kids loved him – he had this sweet, happy expression that reminded Danny very strongly of Steve and pretty much the same gentle manner with the children.

Also, there was one thing – he was apparently carrying a real, honest-to-god samurai sword. Danny could tell from the way he moved and the way the thing seemed to have weight rather than appear like one
of those flimsy movie props.

And then, there were the bouncers.

Again, these were two guys in samurai gear – all black, this time and Danny made a mental note to check if this Morris Bauman character had Yakuza connections. Nothing in Spooky's background made them
think she could be a dirty cop but it wasn't unheard of for cops to have their own contacts in the criminal underworld. One of the samurai boys had orange hair, of all the crazy things and what looked like this huge-ass sword from one of those Japanese cartoons or video games. Everyone thought it was a prop and commented on it.

Danny was dead sure it wasn't but hell if he knew how this kid could carry the goddamn thing on his back.
The other guy's sword looked a little closer to normal but he too had red hair set up in a spiky ponytail and an interesting set of tattoos on his forehead. Danny had to hand it to them – they were watching the people and the doors, alert for any sign of trouble.

Danny was suddenly certain that all of the samurai guys weren't in costume at all.

Without realizing it, Danny had drifted towards the end of the long bar and closer to the stage. Spooky was right there in a secluded corner, in the middle of talking to Bauman. Danny didn't mean to eavesdrop but he'd always had sharp ears so it was kind of easy to pick out the conversation.

"Tell me I didn't just see who I think I'm seeing," Bauman was telling the little detective.

"Oh hell," Spooky swore. It was kind of funny to hear her say anything remotely resembling bad language, given as she barely looked old enough to get a drink at a bar. "You couldn't just tell me it was all just my
imagination, Morrie?"

Steve – they had to be talking about Steve. Bauman had been looking at Steve that whole time they were all getting acquainted.

"I wish I could say it was my imagination. But Fred's seen the lad and he's fairly delighted to have one of the family so close by. Bloody Elf's going to be insufferable for months!"

Elf?

Spooky sighed. "I can't believe I didn't see it before. But I guess the whole modern look threw me off or maybe I wasn't meant to figure it out at that time. And that's what worries me. And I figure it out today, of
all days. This is not good, Morrie."

"Now this time you're reading too much into things, little girl," Bauman said wryly. "Don't go begging for trouble. And the lad hasn't even a clue who and what he is. He's also not likely to ever figure that out… if he's lucky."

Spooky smiled wanly. "I hope so. He's got enough on his plate as it is."

Bauman snorted. "The entire family's made up of trouble magnets. The hero thing seems to be embedded in their DNA apparently, all the way to Beren One-Hand himself."

Spooky shrugged. "What can I say? We'll keep him safe anyway."

"We? You're the one who's poised to be in the right place at the right time!"

"Ohana, Morrie – you're part of it now, like it or not!" Spooky said, finally laughing for real.

"Manwe's balls…"

Okay. What. The. Fuck.

"Oi! Y'want to order a drink anytime soon? Other people are waitin' on ya, cowboy," said the bartender.

Danny was still reeling from that odd conversation and the fact that his internal Weird-O-Meter started pinging like crazy. He was kind of thankful that the bartender brought him back to earth. Just a little bit.

And then, Danny got a really good look at that bartender.

The man looked years younger, spoke with an unmistakable Cockney accent and had god-awful platinum blonde hair that was definitely from a bottle but Danny was prepared to swear up and down that he was talking to Victor Hesse.

The bartender gave him a toothy grin. "Hey, mate, you look like you've seen a ghost, eh?"

Victor Hesse was supposed to be dead. Just how many lives did the son of a bitch have anyway?

"He's not who you think he is," said another young man tending bar. Again, he was definitely English. He looked barely out of adolescence with bright green eyes behind round-rimmed glasses and messy black hair. "Honestly, he's not. He's not the man you're looking for."

"You doin' the Jedi Mind trick there, Harry?" the Victor Hesse clone laughed. "It doesn't look like it's working!"

"Oh bloody hell," Harry sighed. "Go on, scare the Muggle half to death while I try to save your arse, Spike."

"Spike? I refuse to believe your parents actually picked that name out for you," Danny challenged, finally managing to find his voice. "And if you are Victor Hesse and that's your alias – it's the lamest thing I ever heard."

Spike narrowed his eyes. "Mouthy little bugger, aren't ya?"

Harry facepalmed. "He's not this Victor guy – he's Spike. And Spike, don't piss off the copper, for the love of Merlin. If you look like somebody on the Police's Most Wanted list, you don't want to tempt fate, okay?"

"No way," the Victor Hesse clone – Spike? – laughed. "I gotta be better lookin' than my criminal twin!"

Harry glared at him. "How'd you like to spend the rest of Halloween as a bloody ferret, you prat – I'm sure Buffy will thank me for the peace and quiet it'll bring."

"Okay, I am dreaming," Danny interjected. "Somebody put something in the candy or the drink I had and I am dreaming. Except that I haven't even had a piece of candy or a freakin' beer!"

"Have one on the house then," said Spike agreeably, pushing a Longboard in his direction. He slanted Danny a cheeky, genuine grin that went a long way towards soothing Danny's frazzled nerves.

Danny stared at the bottle - which was unopened – and then raised a brow at Spike.

Spike rolled his eyes. "For Chrissakes, it's not poisoned, ok? There are folks here who'd have my head if I wasted a good beer." He handed Danny a bottle opener.

Danny snorted even as he popped off the cap and took a good long swallow. Despite the uncanny resemblance, Danny knew he had to pay attention to the little details. Unlike Hesse, Spike looked years younger and was missing a couple of facial scars – one delivered by Steve himself. He even moved differently and evidently, he was a bit fond of the whole punk rock / Sid Vicious look.

"Bribing an officer's not gonna get you anywhere," Danny quipped.

Spike chuckled even as it was Harry's turn to turn his gaze heavenwards. "For the sake of my co-worker's blood pressure and your own peace of mind, Officer, I been a right proper law-abiding citizen and have been for years. And – oh, bloody hell –"

"Shite," Harry swore. "Gatecrashers."

Danny followed the direction of their gaze. There were a set of vampire wannabes who came in – giggling and evidently punch-drunk. Danny shouldn't have been worried – this was a party full of cops and the two samurai bouncer guys were already stepping in to take care of business.

"Huh, figures the Shinigami boys came in useful after all," Spike observed wryly.

"I dare you to say that again to Ichigo's face," Harry returned. "That's not just an oversized kitchen knife he's carrying, you realize."

But Danny could see one "vampire" break away from the pack and start walking into the club like he owned the place. This vampire had gone for the whole period costume look, decked out in satin and lace, powdered wig and beauty mark on his pale face.

"Somebody overdosed on their Anne Rice," Danny muttered after he took a much-needed drink.

"Christ, I hate those," Spike muttered. "Fucking posers."

Harry's eyes were narrowed, watching the gatecrasher. Unfortunately, the bouncers hadn't noticed that one had gotten away. The "vampire" looked very much like he was deep into his role, working the whole "beautiful, deadly predator" deal for all it was worth.

"What do you think, Spike?" Harry asked.

Spike snorted. "Can't expect me to tell anything from all the bloody people in this Club, can I?"

Danny stared at them both. "What, you two are telling me that he could be dangerous?"

Truth – there was something about the vampire poser that didn't sit right with Danny. Then again, the idiot just walked into a club filled with cops and their families. He was just asking to get his ass handed to him.

Harry looked evasive. "You get those sometimes – blokes who take the whole vampire role-playing thing a bit too far. Pain the arse, really – hate it when we have those."

And then, Spike burst out laughing. "I'll be damned – he's heading for the pretty one, of course."

Harry looked. "Huh. Mick St. John, eh?"

Spike hooted. "You watch that poncy Moonlight show too? Wait till I tell Snapercup that!"

Danny almost choked on his beer. Of course Count Whackula was heading for the one main trouble magnet in the room. "Steve?"

Danny knew perfectly well that Steve was no stranger to getting hit on by women or men. He normally fended that off with a disinterested smile and a polite variation of "Thanks but no thanks." Often, he was pretty nice about it and Danny finally understood why Steve had been christened with the "Smooth Dog" moniker.

Of course, Danny had initially thought that the "Smooth Dog" nickname that Steve apparently went by as a SEAL was some kind of ironic joke. Lord only knew how Steve could be an Epic Fail on his basic mammal to mammal skills. Except that every now and then, Steve could suddenly, inexplicably turn on the charm and people would be falling all over him, rushing to follow his every whim.

It was the smile, Danny knew. It got them every damn time.

Steve was not smiling when the vampire poser approached him.

At that point, Danny started moving, leaving Spike and Harry behind. He just knew that trouble was brewing.
He could read it in the tense set of Steve's shoulders and the fact that instead of the typical calm, polite, disinterested manner he projected towards people trying to flirt with him, Danny could see that he was beginning to show all the classic signs of flight or fight response.

Knowing Steve, he was definitely leaning towards the "fight" part of that equation.

The vampire poser was far too much in Steve's personal space and ignoring the very obvious efforts that Steve was making to keep him at a distance. He was maintaining direct eye contact with Steve and reached up with a hand to stroke Steve's cheek, the large ruby red ring on his finger catching the light. Steve caught him mid-gesture and Danny could hear the growled warning. The vampire poser laughed – apparently he was trying the whole Dracula hypnosis thing, the way he kept on gazing hungrily into Steve's eyes.

Shit, this guy was just overflowing with the clichés, right?

And then, the vampire wannabe went flying, crashing into a nearby table with a satisfying crunch.

Kids screamed. The little redheaded samurai guy who seemed to be playing the Club's playground monitor started herding the little ones away to safety, with some help from the parents who were present. The two bouncers in the black samurai outfits at the door also came running.

And of course, Danny was where he was supposed to be, right next to his partner.

Steve's eyes were very pale, almost the color of those vampire contacts that Spooky had given him though Danny knew he hadn't put them on.

"Book 'im, Danno," Steve snarled. "He was threatening Gracie."

What? Swearing up a storm on his own, Danny didn't need to be told twice and the cops who were sitting at the table the vampire poser had crashed into stood up and had the idiot cuffed immediately. Nobody threatened Danny's baby girl, even as a fucking joke by some Dracula wannabe.

The vampire poser managed a sinister smile, even though he was visibly winded by Steve's punch. "I was only jesting. Arrest me – you'll have no idea what you're unleashing, my lovely one."

He doubled over as Danny socked him right in the stomach. The cops holding the vamp carefully looked away, not bothering to hide the smirks. The guy threatened a kid, one of their own, to boot. Nobody was
going to call out Steve or Danny about that.

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking – I'll make sure you get a nice even tan once the sun comes up," Danny told him. "Get this fuckhead out of here!"

"Wait."

The command in that voice was very clear and even the cops hauling the wannabe away found themselves stopping in their tracks. Morris Bauman was striding over, face impassive and cold. He stood in front of the wannabe and lifted the latter's chin up, the better to look him directly in the eye.

They could all see the wannabe jerk and freeze in abject fear.

"I see," Bauman said in a quiet, even voice that was all the more terrifying because of its lack of emotion. "You are not welcome here. Do not darken my doors again. This is your first and last warning." He stepped back and nodded at the cops who dragged the obviously fear-stricken wannabe vampire away.

Bauman turned to them all but he was looking directly at Steve when he spoke next. "This is a safe place. We do not tolerate troublemakers nor will we permit any danger to anyone who comes here. You have my word on that, Commander."

There was something odd, almost formal in the way that Bauman spoke to Steve and for the barest moment, Bauman's eyes gleamed red.

The Great Enemy, Danny thought suddenly and he frowned at himself. Now where the hell did that come from? He found himself blinking as Morris Bauman shot him a wry little smile.

"I'll hold you to that, Mr. Bauman," Steve told the Club's owner.

Bauman shrugged. "It's just Morrie now, Commander. You and your ohana will always be welcome and safe here."

"Then call me Steve," Steve answered. "And thanks for the offer."

Bauman – Morrie – gave him another one of those wry grins. He raised his voice. "Party's not yet over, people! Stick around for the band; I'll be playing tonight!"

Grace came running towards them and Danny scooped her up in his arms, relieved that his baby was safe. She couldn't be anything else, not with Kono right behind her and Chin also on his way. Even Spooky had gone down from the stage and was headed in their direction.

They all knew what was coming. They could hold the vampire guy overnight but unless they turned up anything else on the idiot, they'd have to let him go. And they were going to be very thorough in checking this guy out – nothing and nobody was allowed to threaten Grace.

"Is that your Aneurysm Face, Uncle Steve?" Grace asked, looking at him critically.

Danny snorted. "See, what did I tell you, babe? Even my Monkey sees it!"

He was glad that this last remark made Steve snort out a laugh. He could tell that Steve wanted to hold Grace for a little while and it always warmed him to see how much Steve loved his baby girl. Grace could tell too and whispered in his ear, "Danno, wanna go to Steve."

As Danny handed over his precious daughter, he took the time to ask his partner, "You okay, babe?"

Steve nodded wordlessly even as he mouthed the word Later. Danny was going to hold him to that.

Interlude: Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost…

There is a story about a Sleeping Princess and the Prince who wakes her from her enchanted sleep.

It's a tale that has been passed on through the generations and in the way of most tales, details have been changed, twisted or exaggerated. And it's a tale that plays out many, many times in different times and places and with different people.

But the first, the truest story was this.

They found the Sleeping Princess in the ruins of the Necromancer's dungeons in the tenth year of the new King's reign. She was fairer than silver or ivory or pearls. They knew not her name nor her history. There were no records that they could find to explain her presence there in that dark and terrible place.

And it was true, that the young King woke her with a kiss. Of course he would believe that he loved her, fair and beautiful as she was, prisoner of the Necromancer who'd been destroyed long before he was born.

And perhaps it could have ended there, when the young King gave her breath and the first taste of life after so many years of living death.

She might have loved him.

She might have been his Queen.

But her need for vengeance was greater.

And she was a Queen – the last Queen of Numenor, Tar-Miriel. She should have been its rightful ruler had she not been forced into marriage by her power-mad cousin. For so many long ages, they had thought her lost, the last to die when Numenor sank beneath the waves of the sea, brought down by the wrath of the One.

But Tar-Miriel had, with her last breath, had forsaken the One and the Valar and gave herself utterly to the Darkness. She swore vengeance upon the world of the living but most especially on the bloodline of Elendil and the Faithful who had escaped Numenor's destruction, leaving her to her fate. So she escaped from the
wreck of Numenor in the end, caught between life and death, sustained by her hate and her need for blood.

In the young King, fairest of all of Elendil's bloodline, she thought she finally had her chance for revenge.

PART III

Spooky O'Connor was telling a story.

Most people usually forgot what her real name was ("For the nth time, it's Isabel but don't spazz over it, okay?") but she got the nickname for a couple of reasons. The first reason was that she had excellent instincts and was known to act on these weird, out-of-this-world hunches which eventually led her to getting good leads and solving the case. The other reason was that Spooky pretty much was a walking encyclopedia of supernatural minutiae (This from Steve: "Really, Danno? Minutiae?"), which kind of went hand in hand with the cute little Goth girl image she cultivated.

They should've gone home after the unpleasantness with the vampire guy. But Grace was hungry and the food being offered was pretty good, served by these small, round-faced little fellows with curly hair and huge feet.

(Danny had a right to say small – these guys were even shorter than he was!)

So they stayed, mainly because Grace needed to have something in her that wasn't sugar-based and also because Steve was still looking a little bit freaked-out. Grace didn't mind sitting between her father and Steve and it was both funny and touching how Grace somehow managed to do a credible impression of her Grandma Williams and made Steve take more than just a few bites of his food.

"Eat, eat – how you gonna take care of my Danno, you don't eat?" Grace scolded him.

"Aye-aye, Commander Gracie!" Steve said dutifully, lips twitching in an effort not to grin.

"Is it just me or should I be hearing 'how you gonna catch a husband, you don't eat?'" Chin observed wryly.

"Steve's already caught Danny so it's kinda moot, cuz," Kono quipped.

"Damn straight," Danny said smugly.

"You don't ever get tempted to throw him back into the ocean, Bossman?" Kono joked.

"HEY!"

Steve smiled goofily. "Never. I'm keeping him!"

"That's so sweet," Spooky giggled.

"Danno's turning pink!" Grace chortled.

It was surprising how the atmosphere in the Club turned warm and welcoming again. As promised, Morris Bauman played the piano with his partner Fred on the coronet. Danny wasn't a huge jazz fan but they were good and Fred was definitely very easy on both the eyes and the ears.

And then, Spooky got dragged into telling the kids a story – the final bit on the programme for them before their grateful parents would take them home. Apparently, the person tasked to play storyteller for Halloween wasn't able to make it so Spooky got tapped.

And she delivered, starting off with one of those short, funny ghost stories that was designed to make kids jump and giggle.

Then, things got strange.

Spooky got this odd, faraway expression and her eyes seemed to glaze over. Her voice took on a lilting, musical quality as she began to recite this story of an ancient Prince from a lost and forgotten kingdom. Danny knew most of the popular myths and legends and this sounded like it came from the legendarium of
The Lord of the Rings.

"…This Prince would grow up to be a fine young man, fairest of all the Princes ever born to his bloodline, for his mother, of course, was the most beautiful lady in all the lands. And of course, he possessed many of his father's graces as well. His parents loved him dearly and raised him to be both good and wise, that he would be worthy of his father's crown…"

There were elements of other classic fairy tales in there too – the Prince waking the sleeping princess with a kiss. Except that the Princess was apparently some Queen turned evil sorceress or vampire and was actually out for revenge.

"…But Tar-Miriel had, with her last breath, had forsaken the One and the Valar and gave herself utterly to the Darkness. She swore vengeance upon the world of the living but most especially on the bloodline of Elendil and the Faithful who had escaped Numenor's destruction, leaving her to her fate. So she escaped from the wreck of Numenor in the end, caught between life and death, sustained by her hate and her need for blood. In the young King, fairest of all of Elendil's bloodline, she thought she finally had her chance for revenge…"

For some reason, the hairs on the back of Danny's neck stood straight up and he chanced to glance at Steve, who had been riveted by the story as everyone else in the audience.

Steve had turned stark white and he was actually beginning to shake. He mumbled an excuse and abruptly left their table.

Kono didn't even hesitate. "Go on, Danny – we'll look after Grace."

Of course, Danny found Steve in the restroom, standing in front of the sink with the water running. His face
was wet and Danny knew it was only because it would help explain away the suspicious moisture in his eyes. Danny's not fooled though. He didn't like what he was seeing – not one bit. Steve was far too pale and he knew perfectly well that wasn't Kono's expert make-up.

He gently ran a hand over his partner's stiff back. "You okay, babe?"

"Fine," Steve gritted out, wiping his face with a paper towel.

"Which means Freaked Out, Insecure and Neurotic in McGarret-Speak," Danny said practically. "Look, babe, is this about Count Whackula? Because I promise you, we're gonna sift that guy through and he's not gonna even want to think about looking at another vampire movie once we're done with him."

Steve took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's not that. At least, not really. Spooky's story… I don't know… I don't know how to explain it." He raised his hands helplessly.

If it had been any other time, Danny might have teased Steve about it. Instead, he very gently framed Steve's face with his hands, making the taller man look directly at him. "What is it about Spooky's story that's freaking you out?"

Steve sighed again. His eyes were gray this time and oddly haunted. "It's familiar to me. I don't know how or why. Like a nightmare that I can't wake up from." He shivered. "And everything is so cold and dark…"

Danny drew Steve close, let the taller man bury his face in Danny's neck. He felt Steve press a kiss at the pulse point just beneath his ear and he in turn kissed the other man just beneath the perfect curve of his jaw. At any other time, this might have been the prelude to other, more pleasurable activities but right now Steve just needed the comfort and the warmth. He was actually freezing and Danny knew perfectly well that it wasn't that cold in the Club.

The moment ended all too soon when they heard a knock on the restroom door. "Steve? Danny?"

It's Chin and there's a tone in his voice that they rarely ever hear. Chin actually sounded rattled and Chin is rarely ever shaken out of his Zen-like calm.

"What's wrong, Chin?" Steve asked.

"It's Spooky."

They found Spooky in Morrie Bauman's office, laid out on the couch.

The tiny detective was unconscious. Spooky had finished her story and then, had gone over to the bar when she fainted. Luckily, she was on the other side of the bar when it happened – the rest of the guests didn't see her. Apparently, one of the bartenders brought her to Morrie's office while the other one alerted Chin and Kono.

Danny was going to guess that the one who carried Spooky in was Spike because he was fairly sure that Chin and Kono would have freaked out considerably if the Victor Hesse-lookalike was the one who ended up talking to them. Come to think of it, Spike was nowhere to be seen, which was a blessing since Danny was sure Steve would end up shooting him in his rattled state.

They found Morrie's partner Fred with Spooky. He was apparently trying to revive her.

"Is Spooky going to be all right?" Grace asked in a small voice. She'd immediately latched on to Danny the minute she saw him and didn't look like she would be letting go any time soon.

It was Fred who answered her question, giving the little girl a gentle smile. "Oh, she'll be fine, little one. Look, she's waking up now."

Spooky's eyes fluttered open and they were blank and gray.

"Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim."

And she was looking directly at Steve when she said those words.

Danny could hear Steve's sudden intake of breath at that.

"Isabel." Fred said in a sharp, commanding tone.

Spooky blinked and Danny could see those gray eyes return to their normal light blue, focusing first on Fred and then the rest of them. She groaned and held her head in her hands. "Oh. Owww…."

"Spooky, you feeling better?" Kono asked, going over to sit by her side on the couch. "You need us to take you to the ER?"

"No," Spooky whimpered. "Please tell me that you guys managed to book whoever it is that got me."

"Nope – you just keeled over, Spooks," Danny told her.

Fred was slightly more practical. He had just poured something from an exquisite glass pitcher into a shot glass and handed it to her. "Drink this. You need it."

"Oh. Lovely," Spooky said and drank. Color returned to her cheeks and she looked considerably better than when they came into the room.

Steve was evidently waiting for that. "You were acting a bit strange before you fainted, Spooky."

Spooky blinked. "Huh?"

"Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim." Steve recited in an uncannily perfect imitation of Spooky's accent and tone. Danny should have remembered that Steve had near-photographic memory. He and Steve were watching Spooky very carefully.

Spooky was good - Danny could see her eyes widen just a bit before she recovered herself and answered, "I said that?"

"You know what it means, Spooks or do you just go around speaking in tongues?" Danny asked.

"It's Sindarin," Spooky said. She shrugged. "I'm a bit of an old dead language geek too. It means: I gave Hope to the Dúnedain; I have kept no hope for myself."

"That's grim," Chin observed.

"It's from an ancient tale – the Elfstone and the Evenstar," Fred supplied helpfully. "It's not so very startling since Spooky here was telling the story of their son."

Spooky gasped. "I was what?"

"Spooky," This time, Kono took over, shooting Danny and Steve a look. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Spooky was saved from answering when Morrie walked into the room. "Officers, I believe we have a bit of a situation."

An HPD detective was standing just outside the office door. "Commander McGarret, Detective Williams – we just got the call right now from one of the officers who took in that gatecrasher a couple of hours ago. The man's dead."

-tbc-

Hawaii Five-0 FIC (WIP): Sunlight Part IB

Notes: