Hawaii Five-0 is property of CBS and its creators

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It's all over but the shouting. There's a bank vault full of hostages clamoring for release, their cries getting more and more panicked as time passes. They've been in their several hours while SWAT and Five-0 surrounded the building, attempting to talk the bank robbers down, finally succeeding. Now they can't get into the vault, and they have no idea how much air is left.

What really gets to Detective Danny Williams is the fact that there's a mother and three kids in there. He can imagine how scared they must be, sitting there in the dark, not knowing when or if they'll see their daddy again. He imagines how he'd feel if his daughter Grace were in there. He would go nuts. He goes a little nuts even though the kids aren't his.

"How do we get into the vault?" He demands, not for the first time.

"Keypad and key combination. There's a combination lock and two keys," Chin Ho Kelly says.

"Who has the keys and the combo?" Danny asks.

"The manager and assistant manager," Chin replies.

"And where are they?"

Kono Kalakaua points wordlessly to the vault.

"Shit," Danny says, with feeling.

"HPD has someone on the way to cut the vault open, but it'll take hours," former SWAT captain Lou Grover said.

Danny wasn't pleased with the news. "Fuck that. I'm getting them out now. I'm gonna need a lot of room. You guys better get out."

"He's getting more like you every day, Boss," Kono said to the fifth member and leader of their team, Commander Steve McGarrett. "Must be the soulmate thing."

"I know. I'm so proud of him," Steve said, smiling broadly.

Lou still couldn't get his head around this so-called "soulmate" thing, but hey, if his two male teammates wanted to get married and were happy, who was he to argue? The current situation was more pressing. "What, you've got some C4 hidden on you?" He asked incredulously.

"Nah, explosions are still Steve's thing," Kono said as she led Lou out into the safety deposit box room, shutting the door to the vault room behind her.

"So what, he's just going to kick the door in?"

"Something like that," Chin said mysteriously.

Lou gaped at him. "You've got to be shitting me." Just then their ears were assaulted with the sound of screeching metal, which did, indeed, sound like a vault door being ripped off its hinges. "What the fuck?!"

"Danny's a dragon," Kono said matter-of-factly.

Lou laughed. "Go ahead, pull the other one."

"It's true," she insisted. She gestured at the door to the vault room. "See for yourself."

Lou opened the door and peered in. "All I see is Danny, the hostages, and a doorless vault."

Kono shrugged. "He must have shifted back already."

Lou shook his head. "If this is some sort of hazing thing for the newbie, it's a pretty poor one."

"Then how do you explain the door?" Chin asked.

"I'm going with the C4."

"Suit yourself," Steve said.

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Later, the team was back at Steve and Danny's, barbecuing on the lanai. Grace was with them. Danny needed her close, what-if scenarios still whirling through his mind, even though it had all ended happily. She and Kono went down to the water to build a sandcastle while the others kicked back with beers.

Lou took a swig of his beer and addressed Danny. "So, I'm curious. How did you get the vault open."

Danny looked uncomfortable, glancing to Steve and Chin for help. "What'd you guys say."

"We told him the truth," Chin said. "You're a dragon."

"And we all know that's bull," Lou said. "C'mon, the truth. Had some C4 stashed on you?"

"Nah, that's Steve's gig," Danny said, echoing what Kono had said. Chin and Steve laughed at that.

"Then how?"

"Steve and Chin are right. I'm a dragon."

Lou was angry. "Will you get off of that already? Joke's wearing thin."

"It's true." Danny moved off the lanai and down to the beach. "I'll show you."

Lou reluctantly followed the others down to the beach, where Danny stood, naked, his clothes in a pile beside him. "Watch," Danny said.

The air shimmered, and in Danny's place was a 30-foot long, 10-foot high golden dragon. Its scales glinted in the light of the setting sun. Its huge wings were furled over its back. Its tail was curled around its body. The dragon turned its head to Lou as if to say, "Well? Do you believe me now?"

Lou didn't. He looked down at his beer, wondering if he'd had too much to drink and he was hallucinating. But no, this was only his second beer, and he was no lightweight when it came to alcohol. Okay, he was a cop. Cops were trained to assess evidence. And the evidence said. . .Danny was a dragon. "Wow," was all he could say.

Kono and Grace had made their way over. "Danno's pretty impressive, isn't he?" Grace said proudly.

"He's gorgeous," Steve said in that tone only the truly smitten can manage.

That broke Lou out of his trance. "Besotted much?" he snorted.

Steve ignored Lou, reaching out to scratch Danny's eyelids. Danny leaned into the touch. "It's okay to touch him. He doesn't mind. He likes his eyelids scratched."

"That's a little too intimate for me. I'll leave that to you." Lou did reach out a tentative hand to Danny's shoulder. "Wow, that's just amazing."

"Yeah, it is," Kono agreed.

Lou tore his gaze away from Danny and addressed the others. "So, when's dinner?"