A/N: A new McKono fic. Can be regarded as a season 4 based, but there are a few major differences in the story line. Trying to write a lighter fic now, after the last two, that were a bit more serious.

Again, I do not own Hawaii Five 0. Everything you recognize belongs to CBS. Although I have some misgivings about the way the show is written recently, I still love the characters and the basic energy of the show. Here, for better days to come...

Please tell me what you think.

"Please babe, you have to do something " Danny pleads her, in what must be the seventeenth time in the last week. She stands on a ladder in the storage room when he does it, putting away boxes of listening devices and ammunition he hands her from the lower shelves, so she practically has no way to escape.

"What do you want form me?" she sighs miserably "he's your girlfriend, can't you do something yourself?" It's the same conversation all over again since he started nagging her nonstop about this.

"Don't you think I tried?" he whines, shaking his head "believe me, I begged, I pleaded, I threatened him, I even tired to bribe him... nothing worked, he won't listen."

"So... leave him alone, then. I mean, he literally said no, didn't he? Maybe he's genuinely not interested."

"Of course he's not interested" Danny huffs dismissively "he doesn't want anything to do with it. He was very clear about that. And quite loud, too..."

"So, why do you keep bugging him for?" she looks at him tiredly "or me, for that matter?"

"Why?" Danny cries "why? Because I care about him, and I know what's good for him, and I just can't..."

"Can't what?" she looks at him with suspicion.

"Can't handle him being so angry and miserable, and irritated all the time. It drives me crazy, and I think it's actually dangerous for me to be around him when he's feeling this way. He might do something dangerous." She raises her eyebrow skeptically "he might do something even more dangerous than usual" he clarifies.

"Danny..." she sighs.

"Look, Kono. If I had another way, I would never have dreamt about throwing this on you..."

"But I don't want to do it" she whines.

"I know, babe. But we're Ohana right? It's your duty to help him out." She looks at him in despair "please, babe" he smiles enticingly at her, trying to break her resolve with the most pathetic imitation of a puppy dog eyes.

"Honestly, Danny, Do you really think he would listen to me more than he would to you?" she tries one last desperate tactic "I mean... you're his best friend, the two of you spend all your time together... and just between the two of us, I think he would do a lot just to keep you quiet..."

"Well, it's... a bit more complicated than what you think, actually" he says, looking around the room awkwardly.

"What do you mean?" she looks at him with suspicion from on top of the ladder.

"I might have offered a... a deal, sort of..."

"A deal? What deal?" she steps down and stands in front of him, staring at him warningly. She has a really bad feeling about it.

"You want me to do what?!" Steve turns around, to look at Chin who sits on the couch in front of him.

"I'm sorry Steve, if I had another way, I would never have dreamt of throwing this on you."

"What do you mean, no other way?" he looks at him with suspicion "she seems fine to me, I have no idea what you're talking... Wait, did Danny send you to talk to me about this?"

"She's not fine, Steve" Chin rolls his eyes "I'm sure, even you can see that she's not fine."

"Well," he sighs "she had a rough time recently, it's understandable if she needs some time to... "

"She's miserable."

"She's not" he rejects.

"She's extremely sad and depressed, and very lonely."

"Well" he says carefully "maybe she is a little... discouraged..."

"Fine" Chin nods levelheadedly "we can call it discouraged if it makes you feel any better, she still needs your help, though."

"My help?" Steve scratches his head awkwardly.

"You're her boss, Steve" Chin reminds him "you have a certain responsibility."

"Seriously Danny" she cries when she sees she might actually be forced to go through with this stupid plan "even if I said yes, I would never be able to find someone who would go for it."

"Why not?" he sounds offended "what's wrong with him? He's a great guy."

"He certainly was" she agrees "a really great, standup guy. Until she cheated on him, and left him, and turned him into this pile of resentment, misery and cynicism. I don't think I can expose innocent people to him when he's being like that, especially when he really don't want to do it..."

"I know he's... all those things you'd mentioned... I do. But even like that, he's really good-looking..." Danny tries "women always look at him when we go out, they keep giving him their phone numbers, they flirt with him, quite shamelessly, too."

"Did he ever went out with these women, or used their phone numbers?" she raises an eyebrow.

"Well, no" Danny grunts "I honestly think he has no idea what to do with them."

"You see?" she points out triumphantly "he's not cut up to this shit. He's... different than other guys..."

"Guys? What guys?" he looks at her curiously.

"Normal guys" she clarifies.

"But why me?" he looks at Chin anxiously "I mean, where the hell would I find a... I mean, you're the one who is more familiar with the population around here, you can handle it much better . Better than anyone."

"We know the same people" Chin shrugs "and even if I'd manage to find someone we're both not related to, we have a history together. She will never accept anyone I bring. She'll be way too suspicious."

"What about Danny?" Steve offers "can't he find someone?"

"Danny has no friends on this island whatsoever." Chin shakes his head "I think he tries to make sure it will stay like that for as long as he can."

"Chin..." he sighs.

"It's just a guy. A random guy. Maybe you can bring someone from the Naval base."

"Do I have to?" he whines.

"Well..." Chin looks at him carefully "you kinda do, because the only way we could persuade her to do it, was to offer her some kind of a deal."

"One of my cousins?" she looks at him like he's crazy "no way. They've all heard too many stories about him. They all think he's out of his mind." He looks at her pleadingly "well... my cousin Lilly said he looks good..." she says hesitatingly, seeing Danny's eyes brighten immediately "but why do I have to go too?" she asks with a sigh "can't I just give her his number?"

"You're going too to make sure he's following the basic rules of human behavior. And because he's fixing you up with one of his buddies" Danny reminds her.

"Buddies?" she looks at him skeptically "he has buddies now?"

"Mmmm... maybe an acquaintance would be more accurate" Danny agrees.

"One night?"

"One night."

"And you'll owe me!" she warns him.

"Two weeks of paperwork and seven lunches."

"Ten" she crosses her arms on her chest.

"Eight."

"Ten."

"You've got yourself a deal, babe" he smiles, as they shake hands.

"Just one night?" he asks again, carefully.

"One night" Chin confirms "just to help her get started."

"And I have to be the one to offer it to her because..."

"Because she'll never say no to you."

"And the reason I have to have a date too is..."

"Would you rather just sit there, alone, looking over their shoulders?"

"Fair enough" he sighs "but I'm telling you, if by the end of the date she's not laughing and smiling like a crazy lunatic every day, I'm holding you responsible for wasting law enforcement time and resources."

She's more excited about this ridiculous double date than she thought she would be. Well, maybe excited is not the right word. Scared out of her wits, and on the verge of throwing up is much more accurate. It took her three whole hours to gain the courage to call her cousin Lilly and offer to set her up with her boss, and she still isn't sure what was more annoying, to find that Lilly was completely over the moon about the offer, or to find that Steve was surprisingly much more amendable to the concept than she would have imagined. She tries to figure out what Danny and Chin went through to make him cooperate, and she looks for some sings of bodily harm on the two guys, but can't detect any. Jeez, Danny was right. He must be in a worse shape that she thought if he actually let them do it...

Finding a guy is easier than he thought it would be. He goes to the bar near the Naval base and looks around the place for several minutes. He tries to repress the few memories he has from hanging there with Catherine during the last year, but it takes a whole bottle of pale ale to actually accomplish this.

He locates James in the far corner, shooting pool with his friends. He goes over there, and watches him for a while, assessing him carefully. He recognizes him from several operations he had with SEAL team 9 a few months ago, when the guy struck him as one of the best on that team. He was quiet and serious looking young man with what seemed like a great future before him, and he got Steve's attention. That at least is something in his favor.

James is tall, and tan, and he has a good hand on the pool table, and more importantly he's a second lieutenant, which makes him ranked high enough for his age, but low enough for Steve's taste. He follows him in the club for quite a long time, the boy doesn't drink much, and he laughs a lot at his friend's jokes, he looks at the blonde hair, the green happy eyes, he's no expert, but he has a feeling girls might go for someone like him. He looks at his watch, it's almost midnight, even if they don't, the date is tomorrow, so he would have to do.

He grabs him to the side, and offers him the deal. One night, a double date, with the most beautiful girl on the island. James looks a bit skeptical, so he pulls out his cell phone and shows him a picture of his young teammate. The young SEAL says yes immediately.

She picks Lilly up at her home, and they drive to the restaurant. Danny made the reservations, in the morning, and just in case left them his credit card number. When she sent him a questioning look, he only shrugged and said "trust me, I know who I'm dealing with."

"Don't be all girly, and creepy, and sweet." she warns her cousin when they pull up near the restaurant.

"What do you mean?" Lilly looks at her curiously.

"He likes strong women. The kind of women who can take care of themselves. Try not to... not to be too needy."

"You mean, you don't want me to let him pay?" Lilly arches her perfect eyebrow at her.

She snorts at the absurd presumption of Steve paying. Yeah right, that will be the day "no. I mean, don't wait for him to hold the chair for you, or to order for you, or... do all these other things guys do sometimes."

"Why not?" Lilly smiles.

"Why yes?" Kono answer with irritation "you're a corporate lawyer, you eat men like him for breakfast. You're a tough woman, why would you even want to..."

"I'm on a date Kono" Lilly laughs her beautiful laugh as they get out of the car "I think I can expect a little... tenderness."

"Tenderness?" Kono shrieks "right, I wouldn't hold my breath..."

"We'll keep it short." Steve tells his new friend when they drive to the restaurant.

"Short?"

"Yes, short. And I want you on your best behavior the entire time. She had a rough time recently, went out with a guy who lied to her and hurt... it doesn't matter, I want you to be kind, and to listen carefully to the things she says, and to laugh at her jokes, and to make her enjoy herself."

"Steve, I know how to handle myself on a date..." James starts to explain, but Steve only sends him a warning glare "I mean, yes sir. Whatever you say." James tenses into attention. That's much better.

The restaurant choice is impeccable. A simple enough sushi place, with nice tables, candles light, red tablecloths, quiet music and great atmosphere. She sends a careful look at her boss, when she sees him from the door, he's looking around him, and seemed quite impressed, she has a feeling going to restaurants is not a usual part of his life.

They step towards the table, and amusedly she sees how Steve's companion stands up to greet them. Steve only frowns at first, but when he has no other choice, does the same, and he's lucky he has one of his best smiles on when they come nearer, because it helps her forget immediately what a bad idea it was to let Danny push her into this ridiculous situation.

She introduces Lilly, and his smile is getting wider, he shakes Lilly's hand, and she knows her cousin well enough to know she doesn't blush this easily for any random guy. She sits next to James, smiling kindly, watching, horrified, how Lilly swallows Steve with her eyes, like she's going to ravish him.

Suddenly, she has a very weird feeling about this...