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Danny Williams' contractions started in the middle of the night. Steve McGarrett, his partner, husband, and soulmate actually felt them first. Steve was a light sleeper thanks to his SEAL training, so he was awake at the first twinge of pain. He took stock, trying to figure out where the pain was coming from, before he realized it was coming through the soulmate bond with Danny. Steve concentrated to pinpoint the source of the pain. Danny's stomach. Danny was in labor!

"Babe, babe, wake up, he's coming!" Danny mumbled and snuggled deeper into the covers. Steve shook his shoulder insistently. "Wake up, Danny!"

Danny barely registered the shake. Gradually, though, the images of baby dragons popping out of shells coming from Steve penetrated Danny's brain. "Baby, Steve. Baby. Not a dragon. And it's not hatching out of a shell. It's going to be born like any other human baby."

"He," Steve said. "It's a he. And he's a dragon."

"Half-dragon," Danny emphasized for what seemed like the millionth time. They'd been arguing this for the past nine months. "And it—sorry, he—will be spending most of his time as a human. And we don't know for sure it's a he." Danny's baby had been too active for the doctors to be able to determine its sex, but Steve had been insisting—also for the past nine months—that it was a boy. At this point, Danny figured Steve was probably right. He seemed much more in tune with the baby than even Danny himself, and Danny was carrying it—sorry, he. Danny marveled at how well a human could pick up on his, Grace's, and apparently the baby's thoughts, even better than Danny, a full dragon and their father, could.

"Anyway, that's beside the point. Didn't you hear me? You're in labor!"

Danny concentrated. He didn't—no, wait, there it was, a twinge in his stomach, like something was trying to get out. "Hunh. Whadya know? So I am." He drew the covers over himself and started to go back to sleep.

Steve shook him again. "What are you doing? We have to get you to the hospital!"

"What I'm doing, Steven," Danny said, "is sleeping. It's probably the last sleep I'm going to get for the next two years."

"How can you sleep at a time like this? This is the most important day of your life!"

Danny sighed. "I can sleep because nothing's going to happen for a while, so I might as well rest while I can. Now do me a favor and either go back to sleep or leave me alone. Go for a swim or something."

"But I might miss something!"

"Don't worry," Danny said, "I remember when Rachel was in labor. You've got hours yet. NOW LET ME SLEEP."

Steve obeyed, mainly because he knew if Danny was testy now, it was nothing compared to the way he'd be in full labor. Steve didn't have first-hand experience (yet), but he'd heard enough horror stories from Danny to have an idea.

Steve left Danny trying to get comfortable (no easy feat for a man nine months pregnant and in the early stages of labor) and, as directed, went for a swim. He stayed out as long as he could, but he was too nervous and, despite Danny's assurances, afraid he'd miss something. He tried to tune into Danny through the soulmate bond, but couldn't really sense anything. He told himself that was just as well—if anything was really happening, he'd know it.

After about an hour, Steve returned to the house, unable to contain himself any longer. He checked in on Danny, who was tossing restlessly, and reached out to sense the baby. He was still getting faint twinges occasionally as Danny had a contraction, but Danny was right—he didn't seem to have missed anything.

Steve was at a loss. He wasn't good at just waiting. He needed to do something. So he repacked Danny's go bag, adding a few extra things just to be sure (because you never knew when a pocketknife and a canteen would come in handy. He could just hear Danny's voice: "What, do you think I'm giving birth in the woods, you Neanderthal! I'm giving birth in a hospital! I don't need that stuff). Steve felt it was better to be prepared, though. Once the bag was packed, he carried it out to the Camaro, turned it around to be pointing to the street, and left the keys in the ignition for a quick getaway—er, whatever.

Then he called Chin. "Kelly," Chin answered sleepily.

"It's Steve, Chin."

"Did we catch a case?'

"No, Chin, Danny's in labor!"

That woke Chin up a bit. "How is he? Are you at the hospital?"

"No, we're still at home. It just started a couple of hours ago."

Steve could hear Chin settling back under the covers. "Then you've got a while yet. Call me when you get to the hospital."

"Okay. I should call the others."

"Steve, it's 4 am. They're going to be very unappreciative to be called when nothing's happening."

"But Danny's in labor!"

Chin sighed. "Look, do us all a favor a go swim or something."

"I did that already."

"So take another one."

"Chin!" Steve wailed, "What do I do?"

Chin sighed again. "If you want to do something useful, go time his contractions. That'll tell you when it's time to take him to the hospital."

"I can do that."

"Good. Then go do it and let the rest of us sleep, brah." With that, Chin hung up.

Steve found the watch he'd given Danny early in his pregnancy, the one that monitored his breathing and his heartrate and had a stopwatch. The one Danny had flatly refused to wear. "I'm not in the fucking hospital!" He'd shouted, flinging it across the room. "I don't need you monitoring me 24/7!" Steve had argued that he was just concerned about Danny and the baby, but Danny wasn't having it, so Steve had stowed the watch away. It would come in handy now, though. Not that he really needed a device to monitor Danny and the baby. Not when he had the soulmate link.

Steve tiptoed into the bedroom. Danny seemed to be resting comfortably for the moment, his breathing deep and even. Steve rested his hand on Danny's abdomen, listening to the baby's heartbeat and waiting for the twinge through the bond that signaled a contraction. When he felt it, he hit the stopwatch and waited for the next. It was peaceful sitting next to Danny, listening to him breathe, feeling his and the baby's hearts beat. After a while, Steve fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he was awakened by a sharp cry from Danny. "Unnnggghh!"

Steve was awake immediately. "What is it, Danny? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong, Steven, is I'm having a fucking baby and it fucking hurts!"

Ah, so they'd reached that stage. Steve knew he was in for much worse before this was over. He found himself glad Danny was going to have a c-section. As tough as the SEALs had made him, Steve didn't think he could stand a pain-ridden Danny ranting at him for god knows how many hours. That was a form of torture he just wasn't ready for.

"Now can we go to the hospital?"

"Yes, Steven, now we can go to the hospital," Danny ground out, clutching his stomach as another contraction hit.

Steve hustled Danny out to the car. Even in as much pain as he was, Danny was amused at Steve's carful preparations. "We're just going to the hospital, Steve. We're not planning an all-out assault."

"I wanted to be prepared."

"And I bet you have the shortest route to the hospital already programmed into the GPS, don't you?"

Steve's face fell. "I didn't think of that."

Danny patted his arm. "It's okay, no one's perfect."

Steve drove to the hospital quickly, but without his usual abandon. After all, he had precious cargo. Steve careened up to the Emergency Room door and screeched to a halt. "Okay, we're here."

"The Emergency Room? Really, babe? It's a baby, not a gunshot wound. Front door, Steve."

"Okay, fine," Steve grumbled. His husband was in labor. It was an emergency to him, no matter what anybody else might say. Danny insisted he could walk in under his own power, so Steve parked the car and carefully guided Danny to the front desk.

"McGarrett, Five-0," he barked. "My husband needs immediate medical attention!"

"Emergency room's that way," the volunteer at the desk said, gesturing vaguely and not looking up.

Danny put his hand on Steve's arm before Steve could snap at her. "Stand down, babe. You're not on duty, and this isn't a tactical op." He turned towards the woman at the desk. "Danny Williams. I'm in labor."

The didn't get much more of a reaction. She switched hands and gestured in the opposite direction. "Admitting's that way."

Danny could tell Steve wanted to say something scathing, but he drew him away before he could get anything out. Danny handled admitting himself, not letting Steve strike terror into any unsuspecting hospital employees. He had to stop in the middle of his conversation with the admitting person for a contraction, gripping Steve's hand hard.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked. "Can I do anything?"

"Steve, you've been asking that every time I've had a contraction since we left the house. Enough already!"

Steve was appropriately cowed. "Sorry."

Danny was wheeled into a room to wait for his doctor. Steve stayed with him, hovering protectively, until the fourth time Danny screamed at him. "Stop hovering!" He shrieked as a contraction ripped through him and he squeezed Steve's hand hard enough Steve was sure he'd break a bone or two. "Just give me some fucking space!"

Steve gently withdrew his hand. "I'll just go call Chin and Lou and Kono. I'll be in the waiting room if you need me."

"You do that," Danny said, panting, "Just leave me the fuck alone!"

Steve left the room hastily.

He was pacing the waiting room anxiously, Chin and Lou and Kono watching him, when the nurse finally approached him. "Commander McGarrett? You may see your husband and child now."

Steve's face lit up. "It's over? He's finally here?"

The nurse smiled. "Yes, Commander. You have a son."

"I knew it!" Steve crowed. His team slapped him on the back. "Can I see them now?"

"Right this way." She led Steve into the room where Danny was resting. "I'll be right back."

Steve approached Danny cautiously, mindful of his bawling out earlier. Danny waved him over. "It's okay babe. I'm sorry I yelled."

"It's okay." Steve forgave him. "I think I'd be pretty testy too if I had a dragon trying to claw it's way out of my stomach."

"Baby, Steve! For the last time, it's a baby! And if you say 'baby dragon' one more time I'm going to hit you." Okay, so maybe Danny was still a bit irritable. Steve made a mental note to continue to tread carefully for a while.

The nurse returned, carrying a tiny, squirming bundle wrapped in the obligatory blue blanket. "Here he is, gentlemen, your son."

Steve peered at the figure in the blanket. He couldn't really make out much. It seemed to be shifting from human to dragon and back again. He frowned. "Is he supposed to be doing that?"

"It's okay," Danny assured him. "He's just agitated right now. It's normal. Hold him and he'll settle down."

"Is it okay? I'm not really used to being around babies."

Danny snorted. "You'd better get used to it, seeing as how this one's going to be around a while. Go on. I promise he won't break."

Steve took the bundle gingerly. True to Danny's word, the baby settled almost immediately, and Steve found himself holding a tiny half-dragon covered in purple scales so dark they were almost black. "He's beautiful."

Danny peeked in. "He's a dragon."

"Of course he is."

"No, I mean, he was human for me. He looks just like you."

"He has your eyes, though."

"He's a newborn. They all have blue eyes."

"No, I mean he will have your eyes."

"How do you know these things?" Danny waved his hands. "Are you clairvoyant or something?"

"I was right about him being a boy, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were," Danny admitted. "And you're probably right about this, too."

Steve rocked their son gently for a moment. "What are we going to name him?" That was something they hadn't discussed. Even though Steve was sure it was going to be a boy, Danny kept insisting they had to be prepared if it was a girl, so they hadn't come to any conclusions.

"I was thinking Matt," Danny said tentatively. "And John for the middle name, after your father."

Steve smiled. "Matthew John Williams. I like it."

"Matthew John McGarrett," Danny corrected. That was something they had discussed but couldn't agree on. Each man stubbornly insisted the child should have the other's name. Chin, Kono, and Lou had suggested dozens of times they should just use McGarrett-Williams, or Williams-McGarrett, but they couldn't agree on that either.

It was time for a compromise. "McGarrett-Williams," Steve suggested. "You chose the first name, so my last name comes first."

Danny pondered that briefly. "Fair enough. Matthew John McGarrett-Williams it is."

Steve gazed adoringly at Matt. "Our dragon."

"Baby, Steve, baby."

"That's what I said. Our baby dragon."

Danny gave up and smiled lovingly at both of them. "Yeah, ours."