Warnings: Child in dangerous situation, language, violence
Pairings: Gen-No pairings in this story but this is the first story in a series that will eventually be slash
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Hawaii 5-0 or The Sentinel.
Notes: This is the first story I've written in about six years so I hope I'm not too rusty. This fic is also un-betaed as I have not yet found a beta reader. I hope you'll give it a try anyway!
"Can we have pizza for dinner, Danno?"
"Pizza? We just had pizza."
Grace shook her head. "No, Danno. No, we didn't just-that was weeks ago."
Danny stifled a smile at his daughter's exasperated tone. "Hmm, I think you're made of pizza, Gracie. That can't be healthy."
"Danno!" Exasperation quickly turned to whining.
"I suppose we could have some pizza."
"Yay!" He watched her fists pump in the air via the rearview mirror and smiled. Danny's good humor faded as he took note of the black SUV that had been following them since shortly after he picked Grace up from school.
"Is your seat belt buckled, Grace?"
"Of course."
"Good." He was probably over-reacting but-He glanced at the mirror again and started to reach for his cell phone. The SUV suddenly accelerated until it was practically attached to the Camaro's bumper. Danny dropped the phone and grabbed the wheel with both hands just as the SUV put on more speed and nudged the rear bumper.
"Danno!" Grace's voice was panicked.
"It's okay, Grace. Just hang on." Danny stomped on the accelerator and pulled ahead. The SUV swerved slightly at the loss of contact but accelerated quickly, pulling close to Danny's car once again.
"Danno, I'm scared."
"I know, monkey, but it's going to be okay." At that moment he spotted a fallen tree the road in front of them. It's large trunk spread across both lanes of the street. Danny only had time to aim for the thinner branches at the top of the tree and brake hard as the car went through the thick foliage. The car thumped violently over branches before sliding off the road and spinning most of the way around. It was only seconds before the vehicle slammed sideways into another tall tree and stopped.
"Danno!" Grace's voice pulled him back from the brink of unconsciousness. "Danno, are you okay?" Grace was crying and leaning into the front seat as Danny opened his eyes.
His vision swam for a moment and he could feel blood dripping down the side of his face. "Are you hurt, Grace?" His head was pounding.
She shook her head and crawled further into the front seat.
Danny reached down for the knife he'd taken to keeping in a boot sheath at Steve's behest, awkwardly reaching around the deployed airbag in front of him to pull it out. He used the knife to pop the air bag, replaced the knife in its sheath, and then pulled Grace into his lap. He craned his neck to look out the now broken windows in the direction of the road. He could hear voices rapidly approaching. They would have a line of sight on Danny and Grace in moments.
"Come on, Grace. We've got to go." Danny opened the door and got out, pulling Grace after him. They headed further into the woods at a run, ducking between trees and jumping over roots.
Danny heard shouting and seconds later gunshots hit the ground to their right. "Grace!" He grabbed his daughter and lifted her up without breaking stride. He darted around a bunch of dense bushes and pushed himself faster until the voices faded. There weren't any more gunshots.
Grace was clinging to his neck and sobbing quietly. "Hey, monkey, are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"That's good." He knelt down and pulled back enough that he could see her face. "We're going to be just fine. We got away and we're going to stay ahead of them. I'll keep you safe, Gracie."
Grace sniffed but nodded and Danny smiled at her. "You're so brave, monkey." He stood up. "Do you have your phone with you?"
"It's in my backpack in the car, Danno."
He sighed. "That's okay, just means we'll have to do a bit of walking." He took her hand and they started moving again, this time at a fast walk. "Steve would probably be glad we got to take a nice hike."
"I don't think I like this hike, Danno." She looked up at her father.
He smiled at her again and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Yeah, me neither."
Every few minutes, Danny surveyed their surroundings, watching and listening carefully for their pursuers.
Father and daughter walked in silence for along time before Grace asked, "Where are we going?"
Danny scanned the trees and said, "We're in the middle of a wilderness area, part of one of the national parks. There's a road that runs through the park and we should only be a few miles from it by now. Once we get to the road we'll follow it back to the park entrance."
"You're sure, Danno?" Grace sounded skeptical.
"Yes, Grace. I do actually know-" He stopped walking and froze.
"Danno?"
"Shh." There were voices, quiet but gaining. "Walk fast, Gracie, and be very quiet." He pulled them in a slightly different direction as they began walking again, moving faster than they had been.
Soon after they changed direction, it started to grow dark. A little later, Grace whispered, "Danno?"
"Yeah, Grace?"
She tripped over a root and would have fallen but for Danny's grip on her hand and quick move to grab her around the waist. "Are you okay, monkey?" It wasn't the first time he'd heard her trip.
"It's dark, Danno. I can't see the roots."
Danny glanced up at the trees around them. He hadn't really noticed just how dark it was. "That's okay." He picked her up and kept walking. "I can see for both of us, Grace."
Eventually, they reached the park's gravel road. Grace had long since fallen asleep in her father's arms and Danny walked along the edges of the trees where they wouldn't immediately be spotted by oncoming traffic. He walked for a long time, constantly on guard for the sound of their pursuers.
Morning light was just beginning to filter through the dense foliage when they finally arrived at the park's Welcome Center. A park ranger stood near the building's entrance watching as Danny approached carrying a still sleeping Grace.
"Good morning," the ranger called when they were close enough she wouldn't have to shout.
Danny's voice was raspy from dehydration and exhaustion. "Mornin'."
"I'm Park Ranger Sally Collins. You look exhausted. Come on in." She held the door open for Danny while he carried Grace into the Welcome Center. "I'm going to guess that you're Detective Williams."
Danny spun to face her and stared, body tense. How could she know that?
Sally just smiled. "HPD found your car early last night. They've been searching for you two."
Danny relaxed a little and laid Grace on a bench near the wall. "Call them and tell them we're here and that we're being followed by three armed men."
Sally's eyes widened slightly and she grabbed for the phone while Danny lowered himself to the bench beside Grace. Now that he'd stopped moving, every muscle in his body throbbed and his already pounding headache increased tempo. He watched Grace, her breath slow and calm in sleep. Slowly, he became aware of a soft thumping, comforting in it's steadiness. It was calming and he focused on the sound. They were okay now. He could finally relax.
Someone had a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. "Danny? Can you hear me?"
He blinked suddenly gritty eyes and stared up at where Steve hovered over him. "That was fast." He felt tired and confused.
Steve snorted but asked, "Are you okay? The park ranger said you were unresponsive."
Danny scrunched his nose. "I'm fine, just really, really, unbelievably tired."
Steve stared. He didn't appear to believe Danny.
Sally appeared next to Steve and said, "Oh, good. You're back with us."
Danny shook his head and immediately regretted it, as the pounding grew worse. "What are you talking about?" He glanced over at Grace who was still sleeping beside him.
"I called your name three times and shook you but you didn't respond. I was worried you might be having a seizure or something." Sally smiled. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Okay." Danny's expression was doubtful.
Steve patted his shoulder again and turned to wave the paramedics over as they walked in the door.
"Any idea who was chasing us?" Danny asked.
Steve turned back to him and stepped to the side to make room for the EMTs. "I was hoping you knew. HPD's been searching the park for hours. They found shell casings and an abandoned SUV but no perps. They're still looking."
Danny nodded before turning his attention to the paramedic who seemed to be intent on making his headache worse via flashlight and interrogation. He answered the paramedic's questions regarding his injuries as a second EMT gently woke up Grace to examine her. Steve leaned impatiently against the wall, arms crossed and an irritated scowl on his face that Danny knew wasn't meant for any of the people currently in the room with him. Steve really didn't like it when anyone messed with his team.
It wasn't long before the paramedics pronounced Grace to be in perfect health and Danny to have a slight concussion. "You should really go to the hospital, Detective. Just to make sure."
Danny shook his head. "I'm fine."
"You should go get checked out, Danny." Steve was still hovering off to one side.
"Though the irony of this conversation is not lost on me, I'm fine, Steve. I don't need to go to the hospital."
"Don't you think that's kind of setting a bad example." Steve smiled sweetly and glanced significantly at Grace who was listening to their conversation.
"Are you sure you're okay, Danno? Your head was bleeding a lot." Grace's eyes were still wide with anxiety.
Danny glared at Steve. "I'm fine, monkey, but Steve is right. We should go to the hospital just to make sure."
"Ok." Grace looked so relieved that Danny felt a little guilty for almost bypassing a check up.
Danny carefully stood. His whole body was one big ache. "I think Steve can give us a ride, don't you, Grace?" Danny would happily skip a ride in an ambulance if at all possible.
Grace smiled happily and nodded, bouncing to her feet.
"Sure." Steve led the way out of the Welcome Center to his truck and all three climbed in. They waved good-bye to Sally as they pulled out of the parking lot.
Danny tilted his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. The truck's seats were bliss after hiking all night.
"Don't go to sleep, Danno." Steve darted a concerned glance at his partner but quickly returned his eyes to the road.
Danny sighed. "You're evil. You know that, right? Don't go to sleep, he says. I've been walking all night after being in a car wreck and chased by unknown armed gunmen-" He turned slightly in his seat and opened his eyes to say to Grace, "which was very scary but you don't need to worry anymore, Gracie, because you're safe now-" then returned his attention to Steve to say, "I think I'm more than slightly justified in being just a little bit tired."
"Concussion" was Steve's only response, though he smirked as he said it. If Danny was complaining then it was unlikely that he was too badly injured.
Danny sighed again and leaned back but kept his eyes open. "Torture. That's what it is. Nice comfortable seat and I can't even take a quick nap."
"Poor, baby. I called Rachel while the paramedics were looking at you guys and told her you were okay." He reached in his shirt pocket and then held out Danny's phone. "You should probably call her yourself though. I'm sure she'll want to meet you at the hospital."
Danny took the phone. "You have my phone."
"Yes, Master of the Obvious, I grabbed it when we found your car."
"Thanks." Danny took a fortifying breath and dialed. He was not looking forward to the coming conversation. "Hey, Rachel. We're okay. On our way to the hospital to get checked out. Grace is fine. The paramedics looked her over before we left. I'm fine too, maybe a very mild concussion. It's probably nothing."
Steve snorted at Danny's qualifiers but didn't say anything.
Danny glared at him anyway. "Yeah, just a precaution. Uh-huh. Here she is." He held the phone out to Grace.
"Mom! I'm okay but Danno got hurt and there were men with guns and they shot at us and we had to walk all night. I was scared but Danno says I was brave and we're okay now. Ok. Ok. Ok, Mom. I love you too." Grace closed the phone and handed it back to her father. "She's going to meet us at the hospital."
Danny shoved the phone in his pocket. "After you've seen the doctor, you're going to have to go home with your mom, monkey. I've got to go to work and find out who those bad guys were."
"But, Danno, I want to stay with you." She threw her arms around him and held on tightly.
He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. He hated to make her worry. "I know but I have to go to work and you'll be safest with your mom."
"Danno-"
"I know, Gracie, but this is how it has to be. I'll come see you as soon as I can."
Steve pulled the truck to a stop near the front door of the emergency room. "Call me when you're done and I'll pick you up."
Danny climbed out of the truck, then reached back in to help Grace. He closed the door, waved a quick good-bye, and started to turn toward the hospital.
"Hey, Danny," Steve called through the open passenger window.
Danny stepped close to the truck to lean in the window. "Yeah?"
"I didn't want to bring it up in front of Gracie but can you tell me anything about the shooters? We really need to get a description out to HPD in case they actually find someone out there."
Danny nodded. "Right. There were three guys, medium height and build, white, two had dark hair but the third was blonde, 30-40 years old, no facial hair, dark clothes. One of the brunette's had a tattoo on his left forearm, not sure what it was supposed to be."
"Ok, wow, text that to Kono. She'll get the info to HPD. I don't suppose you caught any names while you were at it?"
Danny tilted his head back slightly and closed his eyes. "Um, there was a Tolver. The blonde called tattoo guy Tolver a couple times." He reached in his pocket for his phone and quickly texted the info to Kono.
"That's pretty impressive, Danno. Between the concussion, the running, and worrying about Grace you noticed a lot."
Danny shrugged. "People shooting at me while I have my daughter is a pretty memorable occurrence. One I sincerely hope to never, ever repeat. Also, you may have missed this point but-detective." He pointed at himself.
Steve grinned. "I'm gonna have HPD put a couple units on Grace and Rachel until we figure out what's going on here."
Danny gave him a grateful smile. "Great idea. That makes me feel a bit better."
Steve nodded and Danny started to turn away again.
"Hey, Danny."
Danny sighed and faced the truck again. "Yes, Steven."
"Don't leave the hospital without back up. Just in case."
"Fine, fine, whatever will make you leave so I can go get this over with."
Steve grinned and pulled away from the curb.
Danny shook his head and led Grace into the emergency room.