Work Text:
The march of progress
"Danny..." Kono catches his arm outside the bullpen, and she looks concerned, but he brushes past her. "Later," he says, heading for his office with a spring in his step, because they're bringing Steve back from testing and maintenance today.
"Detective Williams," Major Brown says, "In light of your unexpected success with the MCGT-50-X unit, we've decided that you are the ideal candidate to trial our newest prototype." He indicates the tall blonde female robot standing powered-down next to him. "Meet your new partner. This is the LWST-50-X, the first unit designed specifically to operate in the law enforcement field."
By the book
The LWST-50-X unit is a spectacularly efficient law enforcement operative. She's programmed to do things by the book, something that Danny feels he should appreciate more than he does. She respects suspects' rights, shows no inclination to utilize grenades or other unorthodox military equipment and her profiling skills are the equal of any human profiler Danny's ever worked with. She behaves appropriately at all times (apparently her programming doesn't include Steve's 'special skills', although how or why Kono knows that, Danny's not asking.) In short, she's a real asset to the team.
None of these things compensates for losing Steve.
Unpredictable
"I've got news," Chin says. "I've found something out about Steve. After testing and maintenance they placed him with an NCIS team in LA - they thought he'd be a good fit. But the NCIS guys returned him - apparently they found him "too unpredictable".
Danny's stomach lurches. "What did he do?"
Chin's face is inscrutable. "It seems he strapped a suspect to the hood of a car and drove him at high speed through the center of downtown LA before dumping him off a pier into the ocean. I can't think where he learned to do something like that."
Acquiring intel
"What do you mean, he won't talk? Can't you just hang him off a roof or something?"
LWST-50-X fixes him with a cool, unblinking stare that makes Danny feel just a tiny bit like a schoolboy caught cheating. "That's not correct police procedure, Detective Williams. Correct procedure dictates that we take him into custody and question him in the presence of his selected legal representative."
And that's when Danny realizes two shocking things: one, that he actually misses Steve's unorthodox approach to law enforcement, and two, that he himself is no longer the by-the-book police officer he thought he was.
Special requisition
Danny tosses Woman's Day back onto the table and fidgets with his slightly-too-tight collar. The Governor's kept him waiting for half an hour now, and the available choice of reading matter sucks.
He's got one shot, he mustn't blow it, but the Governor's an astute guy, and Danny has a horrible feeling that he's going to see right through Danny's argument. Because while it's true that Five-0 can't ensure the Secretary's safety without the right team in place, Danny's current team functions perfectly adequately without the help of a government-issue killing machine with aberrant programming.
The problem is, Danny doesn't.
Smile!
"Hey, Steve," he calls out, and Steve turns. He looks… exactly the same as he did six months ago, of course he does. Robots don't age. There's a heartbeat of blank assessment and then he smiles at Danny, that open, genuine, gorgeous smile that's designed to charm and disarm, and Danny's lost. Because even though he knows it's just programming, and that Steve smiles that way whenever the social parameters indicate that it's appropriate, he can't help himself. He fights it for a moment and then gives in and allows himself to pretend that Steve's truly delighted to see him.
Foreplay
"Do you wish to engage in penetrative sex, Danny, or would you prefer I fellate you?"
Danny'd forgotten about this part of the whole sex-with-a-robot thing; namely, they suck at foreplay. There's only one course of action if he wants to fuck Steve anytime soon.
"OK, babe. I require you to remove all your clothing and incline yourself in a forward-facing position across the rear of the couch with your feet placed at a distance of thirty-two inches apart to facilitate my penetration of your anal orifice."
Honestly, "Bend over and spread 'em!" shouldn't be so damn difficult to articulate.
Torn
"It's only a flesh wound, Danny, it can be fixed."
The gleam of metal and ooze of colorless liquid from beneath the torn skin of the seized arm make Danny feel queasy, and the feeling increases as he relives yet again the moment Steve was hit, the bullet's impact spinning him round and knocking him down. Because yes, it can be fixed... until the day the experiment is deemed 'no longer of interest' and the funding dries up. He shakes off the thought and pastes on a smile. "Yeah, come on big guy, let's get you to the repair shop."
Remembrance
"Who's this, Tutu?"
Grace takes the old photograph from her granddaughter's hand and smiles. "That's Steve, your great-grandfather's partner in Five-0. He was one of the first AI units used in law enforcement, back in the 'teens."
"What happened to him?"
"They phased those units out in the late 'thirties, if I remember rightly. As for Steve - after my father was killed in thirty five they found that Steve didn't work well with anyone else, so they decommissioned him."
Grace runs a gnarled finger over the picture. "He may have been a robot, but Danno loved him, I think."