It can be…interesting…working with two people who are sleeping together and trying to hide it.

It's no secret that Steve and Danni are having sex; even if they didn't fall into bed when most people think they did. I know that Danni wants to keep her 'relationship' with Steve quiet for several reasons; her asshole of an ex being at the top of that list. She's already confided in me that he's accused her of sleeping her way onto the team.

Of course nothing could be further from the truth. And if he truly knew her, he'd know she has more integrity than that.

Steve has told both Chin and I how he conscripted her into being his partner. And of course that was supported by how pissed she was with him for the first several weeks we all worked together. Not even him buying her and Grace a weekend at the Kahala Hotel could keep her from looking at him like she'd like nothing better than to punch him again. And oh, how I hate that I missed that.

The officers that were there said it was amazing to see this woman just haul off and slug a man nearly a foot taller than her. Of course he brought it on himself by twisting her arm behind her back when she poked him in the chest which was in retaliation for using Grace to tug at Danni's heart strings and try to get her to do what he wanted.

Friday Steve was a bit all over the place without Danni's grounding presence. I heard him cursing her having to go to court for an old case at one point during the day. To say that Chin and I agree is a major understatement.

I've taken to keeping track of the weekends where Steve and Danni have time to themselves and I know this was one where Danni did not have Grace. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing at this point. On the one hand, Steve and Danni complement each other perfectly but on the other hand, Danni hasn't seen Grace in three weeks now due to cases that didn't get wrapped in time. Or rather just one big case that was finally wrapped on Thursday; just in time for Danni to testify in court.

But yesterday morning it was proved that it was a bad thing because Danni refused to speak to Steve all day after the two of them had a very loud and ugly argument. An argument that Chin and I couldn't help but overhear, the offices are most definitely not soundproof. But of course Chin and I both have been pretending that we didn't hear a thing.

But today's a new day and I'm extremely hopeful that Steve took Danni home and fucked her back into a good mood. Or at least gave her enough orgasms that she slept her bad mood away.

When I pull into the parking lot I can see the Camaro in its usual spot. And, just like yesterday, Danni has beaten me into the office. I don't know what's going on with her and I'm not sure I like it. Very few things can be counted on to remain the same: Steve is always the first to arrive with Chin and I usually arriving at the same time and then Danni arrives just ten minutes later.

Except this week. Apparently her and Steve have decided to swap routines with her being the first one in and him being the last.

Inside, the office is empty and the lights are still off. My brows lower in a frown of confusion. I know Danni left last night; after spending the day interviewing witnesses Danni dropped Steve off so he could get his truck and then she drove home. I also know it's her Camaro in the parking lot because I have the Camaro's license plate memorized, along with Chin's and Steve's; and it's parked in her spot.

Backtracking through the bullpen I head toward the bathroom. Pushing the door open I can hear someone puking their guts out.

"Danni?" I round the wall blocking the main part of the bathroom from the hallway and make my way to the handicap stall at the end where I find Danni standing over the toilet, her waist length hair clasped in one hand and the other braced on the wall next to her. "Danni, are you alright?"

"No," she groans before bending over and puking again.

"Does this have anything to do with that thing I found on your desk Friday?"

She spits into the toilet and looks at me over her shoulder. "You went through my desk?"

"What? No! I went to put a file on your desk and I saw what appears to be a positive pregnancy test on your desk."

She shakes her head. "No. It was locked in my drawer."

"No, it was lying right there on top."

"Fuck!" She punches the metal wall of the stall.

"I tried texting you but you never responded."

Danni takes a deep breath before puking up some stomach bile. Guess she's puked up everything for now. "I got your text right before going into court and then I spent the afternoon with Grace."

"And then the weekend with your ankles behind Steve's ears?"

She straightens up and walks over to the sink where she rinses out her mouth before splashing some water on her face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

I raise both my eyebrows. "Please. I have eyes and I'm a damn good detective. You are not as subtle as you think."

Our gazes lock in the mirror and I can see the fear of discovery in hers plain as day. "You can't say anything, Kono. Promise me."

"Hello, you must be new here." I step up to lean one hip against the counter to her left. "I know how to keep my mouth shut, Cousin, you know that."

"But Steve-" I know where she's going and interrupt her with, "Don't worry. I know this is something he needs to hear from you and not anyone else." She leans on her hands with her head hanging and something occurs to me. "He is the father, right?"

Her head snaps up and she glares at me in the mirror. "You don't-" Again I interrupt her. "Please, Danni. Give me some credit, okay? I think it's great. He'll make a great father."

Danni shakes her head. "That may be but that doesn't mean he wants to be a father."

I scoff at that. "Please. I've seen him with Grace."

"So he gets along with my daughter. Again, that doesn't mean he wants to have kids." She drops her gaze to where she's gripping the counter white knuckle tight. "Stan is great with kids as well but he didn't want to be a father."

"Steve is not Stan. Steve loves you to distraction." She begins to shake her head so emphatically that her hair falls from its swept back style into her face. "Don't shake your head at me, Daniel Williams. Anyone with eyes can see it. I assure you he'll be ecstatic that you're pregnant."

"Oh, so now you're an expert on all things Steve McGarrett?"

Leave it to Danni to use humor to deflect from the issue at hand. "Compared to you? Absolutely not. But I've seen the way he looks at you and Grace and let me tell you, that is a man who wants a family so bad he can taste it. So, yeah, in this case I'd say I'm more of an expert than you." She takes another mouthful of water, swishes it around and then spits it into the sink. "You been to the doctor yet?"

"When would I have had the time?" Danni takes a deep breath in through her nose and releases it slowly through her mouth. "I only took the test Friday."

That's surprising, considering where I found it. "You came into work to take a pregnancy test?"

"I bought it Thursday when I ran some errands on my lunch but forgot about it until on my way to the courthouse Friday morning."

"So that's why you refused to let Steve go with you to lunch Thursday. Makes sense."

She nods and swallows thickly. "Yeah." She squeezes her eyes shut and bites her lip. I can tell she's trying to keep from dry heaving. After a very long moment, she takes a sip of water from her hand. "I have an appointment at 2 today."

"Tell him. Today. And then take him to your appointment."

"I can't do that, Kono."

"And why not? He's the father. I'm sure he'd want to go to as many as he can."

"I haven't ever told you about when I told Stan, have I?" I shake my head. "We'd been dating for close to four months and sleeping together for six weeks. I had my annual visit and the doctor told me that I was around six weeks pregnant."

"Holy fuck!"

"Yeah. Imagine my surprise since I have never had sex without the guy wearing a condom and I've been on The Pill since I was sixteen. But it turns out that about half a percent of all women can get pregnant while on some form of hormonal birth control even if the guy wears a condom. And I just so happen to be in that half percent."

"And you're still willing to have sex? Wow."

"Could you refuse Steve if he tried to seduce you?"

"Um…" I had entertained thoughts of Steve and I in those first weeks before it was obvious that he was already head over heels for Danni. The awkwardness of the question has me looking everywhere but at her; which, of course, answers her question.

"Yeah. I thought so." She turns around and leans back against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. "I was shocked at first but by the time I left the doctor's office I was excited. Stan and I had made plans for lunch that day and I was looking forward to telling him." She shifts and crosses her ankles. "I come from a very loving family and have always wanted to be a mom. I never once thought that there might be people in this world who don't want children. I mean, it's just the natural order of things for people to pair off and reproduce.

"We hadn't ever discussed the future. We were just enjoying being together in the moment. I got to the restaurant early and anxiously waited for him to arrive. When he got there I just blurted out that I was pregnant." She closes her eyes and one tear slips down each cheek. "Just the night before he'd been so loving. He had taken me into the city where we had dinner at a four-star restaurant, then went dancing and spent the night in his penthouse." Her eyes snap open and the anger in them has me feeling very glad I'm not Stan. "He told me he loved me. I was beginning to see a future with this man. My parents and brothers already approved of him.

"But the instant those words were out of my mouth-" She swipes one hand across her mouth as if wiping away a bad taste. "-he changed. Gone was the loving charmer who showered me with expensive gifts and in his place was an angry man with the money and resources to take my child from me.

"He called me a bitch, a liar, a gold digger!" Her laugh is hollow and filled with pain. "He never did understand that I didn't want his money. That was never why I was with him. I really, truly thought I was in love with him. It wasn't until I met Steve that I realized I have never been in love before; in fact, I've only ever truly loved one man before Steve.

"I was served with paternity papers a couple of days later. Luckily my doctor doesn't believe in doing an amniocentesis without a good reason and according to him, doing a DNA test before the baby's born doesn't qualify. He told the court that in a healthy woman doing an amnio could cause the woman to miscarry."

"Is that true?"

She shrugs. "Who cares? The court believed him. On top of the paternity, Stan was already starting custody proceedings."

"Seriously? You weren't even out of the first trimester, yet!"

"I'm aware. My brothers and parents helped as much as they could with the lawyer costs. I finally finished paying him just last year."

"Well, that explains the shit hole you lived in until recently."

"That and child support."

"You have to pay support to that fucker?"

"It's the law, Kono. Non-custodial parent always pays support."

"Surely he doesn't need the money?"

"Of coruse he doesn't. That's why we set up a college fund that can only be accessed by us both once she's graduated from high school."

"Smart."

"Yeah. So you see why I can't-" She rolls her hand in a circle instead of using her words. "-with Steve, right?"

"Yeah, I get it. But I'm still going to say this one more time: Steve is not Stan."

"I know that." I start to scoff but she stops me with, "No, I do!" She runs the fingers of one hand through her hair. "I know that here-" She taps her heart. "-but here-" She taps her head and shakes it. "-it's not that easy." She scrubs her face with her hands. "I hate that I can't stop punishing Steve for Stan's mistakes. I mean, I love Steve more than I thought possible but…" Her voice trails off and I can see just how much she's still hurting over the way Stan treats her.

I don't even think, I just reach out and wrap my arms around her shoulders. She collapses almost immediately, her sobs wracking her frame. "It'll be okay, Danni." I stroke my hand down her hair. "Just tell Steve. He'll be over the moon. You'll see."

"I can't, Kono! I can't lose him. Not like this."

I want to call her a stupid haole but don't because it won't help any. "Okay, enough." I push her back and wipe the tears from her face with my thumbs. "If you don't tell him today, I will. Understand?"

"Kono…"

"Nope." I shake my head and cross my arms over my chest. "You tell him before your appointment today or I will. I'm serious."

She heaves a deep sigh. "Fine."

"Might want to brush your teeth, if you have a toothbrush and toothpaste. I bet Chin and Steve are here already."

She digs in her purse before pulling out a travel sized tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. After applying a generous amount of the paste to the bristles, she starts aggressively brushing her teeth. I wince in sympathy for her poor gums. "Chin may be here already but I know Steve isn't," she says after spitting and rinsing. "In fact, he's just left his house." She turns her phone so I can see all the texts Steve has sent her so far this morning.

"And why is he texting you his every move?" She just raises one eyebrow since she's swishing a mouthful of mouthwash. "Seriously?"

She spits out the mouthwash and takes a sip of water from her cupped hand. "Why not? Is there some reason why I can't top a man like Steve?"

"Not at all." And there's not. I've seen men more macho than Steve submit to women much more feminine than Danni. "I just never guessed that that was the type of relationship you two had, is all."

"That's kinda the point." She puts one hand to her stomach and the other to her mouth before sprinting to the toilet and dry heaving for several minutes.

I wet a paper towel and carry it to her. She takes it with a weak sounding "Thanks" before pressing it to her face.

"Feel like you can be more than five steps from the toilet?"

She groans low in her throat. "Yeah. I think so." She takes a moment to be absolutely sure, then nods and steps back over to the sink where she pulls out her toothbrush and brushes her teeth again. "It figures that this kid would be the one to make me sick. It must hate me," she says after spitting and rinsing her mouth.

"Considering it's about this big-" I hold up my forefinger and thumb about an inch apart. "-and is completely indistinguishable from any other mammal, I doubt it hates you."

She gives a bark of humorless laughter. "You just wait until you're puking up your toenails because of a baby growing in your belly." She shakes a finger in my face. "I will remind you of this."

"Yeah, I'm sure you will." I pull the bathroom door open and see Chin coming up the stairs.

"Morning, ladies," he greets us with a smile. "Boss not in yet?"

Danni shakes her head. "No. He's running late."

One of Chin's eyebrows quirks up. "Steve? Steven McGarrett? Running late?"

Danni shrugs. "That's what he said." Her tone is casual but I know that she put Steve on a schedule that differs from his usual one and that's why he's running late. He must be so annoyed.

I hold Chin back and let Danni enter the office ahead of us. He frowns down at me. "What gives, Cuz?"

"I have definite proof that Steve and Danni are fucking like rabbits."

He sighs. "Must you be so crude? I know I raised you better than that." I just grin at him and he rolls his eyes. "So what is this 'definite proof'?"

"Danni's pregnant."

"And you know this how?"

"I just caught her puking up her guts in the bathroom. Plus she told me."

"And did she give you permission to tell people about this wonderful turn of events?"

"Well, no. But she only stressed that I'm not to tell Steve."

Chin sighs. "Kono, you know she meant not to tell anyone."

"But you're not anyone!"

The exasperated look is back on his face; the one he wore quite often when I was growing up. "Now you're just looking for excuses. This is Danni and Steve's news. They will share, or not, as they want. I bet if you hadn't caught her throwing up she wouldn't have told you yet."

"I'm her best friend. Of course she would have told me."

"Before Steve?"

"Before Steve, what?" Speak of the devil.

"Um…" I look at Chin for help but he just shrugs and enters the office. "Coward!" I call after him and he flips me off over his shoulder. "Morning, Boss! How was your night?"

Steve gives me an odd look as we enter the office side by side. "It was fine. And yours?"

"Good, good; it was good." I can see Danni staring at us from her office, her brows lowered in a frown. "Uh, well, I got work to do!" I hightail it to my office where I seriously think about locking myself in.

The way the bullpen is laid out I can't see Danni and Steve's offices from mine but I can walk past them whenever I leave it. And I make sure to do so several times. Each time I find Danni bent over some paperwork or typing away on her computer. A glance into Steve's office shows him doing similar things along with speaking on the phone, probably to the Governor.

About ten minutes before I normally head to lunch, when we're not busy that is, I make one more pass by Danni's office and catch her turning green and trying really hard to not puke into her trash can.

I march into her office and pull her up out of her chair by the arm. "You're telling him right now and then you're going to the doctor."

"Kono…"

"Nope. I've given you most of the morning and you haven't done it yet." I snatch her purse off the couch on our way out the door.

Across the hall, I push open Steve's door. "Hey, Boss. Got a minute?" Steve looks up from the paper he was writing on and frowns at us. "Danni has something she needs-" Danni saying my name on a whimper interrupts me and when I turn to face her I can tell she's about to puke. "Go! Run!" I push her in the direction of the bathroom. She runs right out of her shoes.

I turn back to find Steve has left his chair and is so close I bump my nose on his chin. "What's wrong with her?" The concern in his voice is heartening.

"No time. Just go after her!" I shove Danni's purse into his arms knowing that he'll most likely drop it once in the bathroom and will find the pregnancy test which will force her to tell him.

When he doesn't move fast enough, I shove on his shoulders. "Just go!"