001: Slippery when wet

[dann_0]

WHO: Danny Williams
WHERE: Fountain/Inn
WHEN: Friday 17 -> 22
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: Some mentioning of violence, almost freezing to death and possibly some nudity once he gets inside somewhere warm and can change clothes

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Fountain/Inn Nov -17th
The cold water comes as a shock to Danny's system. He had been... well not really safe or sound for that matter but at least warm in Colombia. The last thing he remembered was calling Grace and talking to her before the guards had caught on and dragged him outside to deliver a beating. He had blacked out in the middle of it and now he is surrounded by freezing water. He blinks and sees the light far above him. It feels too far but he has no choice but to swim for it. An eternity later he breaks the surface and gulps in cold air. He can see the edge of the pool and swims for it even as he can feel his strength leaving him by the second. He manages to pull himself out of the fountain, soaking wet and for a moment he just kneels at the side of it, looking around the area.

He wants to just lay down and rest, he feels so tired. And cold. His whole body shakes with the cold and it is hard to think and to breathe. But he sees a house with lights and he feels like he can almost feel the warmth reaching for him. He somehow manages to get to his feet and stumbles towards the inn. By the time he gets to the door, he doesn't have enough strength left to raise his hand and push the door open and instead he just collapses against it.

After he gets dragged inside and changes to warm and dry clothes he will be hiding next to the most convenient heat source until he feels human again.

Inn+Outside Until 22nd
Danny spends a lot of time at the Inn. Even days later he feels like he hasn't quite gotten warm again and he likes staying somewhere it is nice and warm. The fact that there are people here who can explain where he is and what is happening is a bonus as well. After a few days, he starts to get a little bit of cabin fever though and packs on as much clothing as he can before he sets out to explore the village and get a feel for the place.

Comments

[super_seal]

At Mattie's name, Steve crosses his arms and nods. He liked the younger man when he'd met him last year, but he knows it was a rough time for Danny when he suddenly took off and that Danny's been worrying about his brother since. The more Danny talks, the stronger aneurysm face pulls on his features.

"First, you know you didn't have a choice right? That if the cartel came after you now for money they'd come after you again in the future. They don't just stop. If you wouldn't have killed him, then I would have." Of that Steve has no doubt. Just the idea that this madman threatened Danny. Next time he'd go after Grace, and that was just unacceptable. One less scumbag in the world seemed like a good thing to him. Then, Steve bites his lower lip. "So the CIA extradited us for killing their informant? We should have been able to fight that..." It's an assumption that he was there with Danny as there's no doubt in Steve's mind that if Danny was in the prison, Steve had been there with him, or Danny wouldn't have gone.

[dann_0]

"No we could have left Steve, we could have left the money behind. Or we could have beaten him and brought him to the authorities. I killed him." He takes a breath. "Steve, you're in Hawaii. I am a civilian, it is different. They couldn't send you."

[super_seal]

"A drug lord in Colombia who was in the pockets with the CIA... You think we were going to get him out of the country? That even if we did he would have stayed in a US prison? Or any prison for that matter. And after that, he knows you're a target that he can manipulate. Sometimes, Danny, there's just no other choice." For the most part, Steve preferred to bring the 'bad guy' to justice, but there were times when there was no justice to be found there and he doesn't fault Danny in any way for what he did.

His eyes get big. "What?!" Suddenly he's filled with self-disgust. "I stayed in Hawaii and let them take you to a Colombian prison?! That's a death-sentence, Danny. At the very least we should have fought it in the courts. That's right, you're a civilian who was being threatened by a CIA asset. You are supposed to be protected!" If Steve hadn't done it, the law should have. How in the hell had he let that happen!?

[dann_0]

"I killed a man and then left the country and didn't tell anyone. Worse I am a cop who did all that." Danny reaches out to touch Steve's arm and get him to calm down and listen. "I signed the papers that let them extradite me. If they went after you, your career would be over and the five-o would be shut down. I couldn't let that happen." Besides, Danny is just a civilian, he is not important to the big fish who might want a piece of Steve if he is locked up

[super_seal]

"You did what?!" Steve takes a small step back. He doesn't want to calm down. He can't believe what Danny is telling him, that he would stand by and let any of this happen. Danny shouldn't have taken the fall for the both of them, that was Steve's job. It was his responsibility to keep Danny safe, not the other way around. That realization is like a punch in the gut. "You signed the papers to protect me? Danny, I'm a Navy SEAL, I'm trained to handle those situations." Looking him over from head to toe, Steve has the urge to grab Danny and pull him into a tight hug, but he doesn't want to hurt him more. "Are you alright? How bad is it? Anything broken?"

[dann_0]

"It's just a few bruises, I am fine." He doesn't need to mention that before he had arrived here those bruises had been the least of his injuries. "Seems like whatever pulled me through the fountain also healed whatever issues I had beforehand. Well besides the knee." The knee he was stuck with. He decides not to argue with Steve and instead closes the distance and pulls him in for a tight hug.

[super_seal]

There's no hesitation as Steve wraps his arms tightly around Danny, burying his head into the other man's shoulder. "Yeah, that seems to be the norm. Most people coming through are healed. Not all, but..." He's wondered about that, why not everyone, but almost like everything else, he has no answers.

[dann_0]

Danny reaches up and strokes Steve's back and then he smiles softly at him. "You've been here a while, right? Want to show me around?" That should take Steve's mind off things.

[super_seal]

"A couple of months, yeah," Steve says with a nod as he lets go of Danny and pulls back from the other man. As he does so he reigns in his emotions and thoughts, compartmentalizing them away. Offering Danny a dopey smile, he nods again, agreeing to play tour guide. "You got all your stuff with you? After we tour this village we'll head to the other one and I'll take you back to the house." There's a small pause before he adds. "Mary is here as well."

[dann_0]

"Some of it is back at the inn. I've been staying there since I came here. There is another village?" Danny turns and starts heading back towards the inn. "Mary is here? since when?"

[super_seal]

Walking at Danny's side, Steve nods. "Yeah, it's not quite in as good of shape as this one, but instead of being surrounded by canyon walls, there's a saltwater body of water on one side." Which as far as Steve's concerned, completely explains why he's place is over there and not here. When the reach the inn, he opens the door and waits for Danny to enter first. "About a month back. I arrived about a month prior to that."

[dann_0]

"How much do you know about this place? What is the deal with it?" Danny leads the way up to the room that he had been sleeping in and starts packing together his stuff. "How did you get a house?"