I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: prompt from a recent newspaper story up here in NY. No thanks to TheDogo for enabling - nope. You are supposed to quiet the muse/calm the bunny! What happened? Pah!

Huge thanks to KomodoQueen for the medical jargon to come. And always to CinderH for the ongoing beta at a moment's notice after being told no more stories were coming due to hiatus. Double pah!

Chapter One

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

It was a mid Friday morning and Grace shaded her eyes while taking a moment to watch the waves and the much too bright sun on the horizon. A few lone boats were far away and she shrugged almost bored before turning her attention back to the rocky shore line. It was going to be a hot day with not a cloud in sight. What felt like her entire school and even more ranged up and down the rough beach-head eagerly gathering up collected trash for the Oahu Schools annual volunteer event. Almost everyone had at least one parent present and happily participating in one way or another. But with this special school event, not only were classes canceled for the entire day, Grace was in the seventh glorious day in a row of having Danno entirely to herself.

Nothing could be better than this because they would rack up a total of nearly eleven consecutive days before all was said and done as they moved into a long weekend together. Grace smiled while staring at a small bobbing fishing boat but she was thinking about Danno's expression from three weeks earlier when her mother had so casually mentioned 'the issue'. At the time, Grace hadn't realized that she was necessarily part of the issue; only that the final solution involved her father.

"Daniel, we need to discuss a change in your visitation schedule next month." Her mother's British accent had held a subtle teasing tone, but her father hadn't quite recognized it. In fact, he had been so stunned by the concept of changing anything, his ire had immediately risen to the top.

"In what way?" Instantly tense and as wary as a cornered lion, he had virtually growled out the question and Grace had fought to keep from giggling from her hiding place at the top of the staircase. Her mother had told her about the change in plans well in advance because of the issue, so she knew what was coming. It was her mother's delivery that Grace hadn't anticipated and it had unraveled her high-strung father.

"Stan has an urgent business affair back on the mainland very early next month. Actually, we're leaving in two weeks and it's going to conflict with your usual schedule. It's going to overlap terribly." Rachel had sighed loudly, nonplussed by her ex-husband's increasing wrath.

"We? How long? What overlap... exactly?" The short questions were primed as if readying for a fight and Grace had vainly hunkered down but had failed in seeing Danno's face at first.

"Ten days, Daniel." From above, Grace had seen her mother firmly fold her arms over her chest. Her stance had been defiant; her voice even nonchalant, but Grace imagined the sly twinkle in her mother's eye which her father had again, completely chosen to miss.

"You can't do this, Rachel. Ten days?" Danno had started to pace at that point. Bobbing in and out of Grace's line of sight, his stress level had risen at an almost unfair pace.

"I barely get enough time now! And school… I will not allow Grace to miss that much of her education!" There had been a pause then between the two. Rachel had sternly held her ground, tapping her fingers blandly against her opposite elbow. It aggravated her father and Danno had ceased his pacing just where Grace could see the angry turn of his chin. At this memory, her private smile deepened because the best part had been about to come. She remembered watching as her mother gracefully unfolded her arms to clasp her hands almost plaintively at chest height.

"Well if you must know, I won't allow it either. So while I know that this completely changes your usual schedule and it may require some readjusting on your part…. can Grace stay with you for the duration? I promise it won't interfere or change anything else already in place."

"What?" The lone word and Danno's utterly baffled expression had sent Grace into a paroxysm of laughter at that point. Unable to hide any longer, she'd nearly fallen off the top landing in her haste to get to her feet and down the long staircase.

"You'd need to pick her up a week early and well before that beach cleanup thing is going to happen. Then of course, that following weekend is your usual and includes the Monday holiday. I know it's a lot to ask because... well, I guess it's really eleven days and you are working." But by then, her mother was unable to hide her smirk and then was laughing at her own joke which prompted the continued look of disbelief encasing her ex-husband's face. "Daniel, are you alright?"

Giggling and looking from one to the other, Grace had flung herself into her father's arms and he still hadn't said a single word.

The memory made Grace's smile turn into another giggle. But it was a hot morning and she had things to do. Despite beginning to ache for a swim to cool her sweaty volunteer t-shirt, Grace got back to work. But not before a single glance behind her proved that Danno was still talking to Kia Montrose's mother. Well, at least Mrs. Montrose was talking Danno's ear clear off which was a phenomenal feat unto itself.

On top of that astonishing fact, Kia was embarrassed with her mother's behavior, evident by her tightly folded arms and her purposeful stalk in the completely opposite direction towards the shoreline. She was so upset with her mother's display, she had forgotten both her protective gloves and her refuse bucket.

Grace's amused shrug turned quickly into a knowing smirk as her father tried to back away from the overly affectionate dark-haired divorcee. With that one quiet attempt, Grace knew that he was far from interested after an obligatory nicety or two. Their eyes met for only a brief moment. Grace was smiling widely now and Danno was communicating a pleading look directly at her to save him from the well-manicured hand which lay so possessively on his arm.

Pursing her lips, Grace raced through ideas on what she could do but an excited exclamation from the two boys nearest her and picking up trash on the beach-head had her mouth dropping open in alarm.

"What is that? What did you find?" Shading her eyes now to where the two boys perched on the dangerous rocky outcropping, Grace frowned at the dark blocky rectangle which was quickly shielded from her sight. To her it only looked like a strange rock or darkly scored piece of driftwood. "You aren't supposed to be up there anyway."

"Shut up, Grace. It's none of your business." Partly turning away from her, Sammi hid what he was holding close to his chest. While she was on down below on the wet sands, he and Mark had clambered directly up the rocky shelf as soon as an adult had ceased paying them enough mind. The two troublemakers were best friends and constantly playing off each other to tease, goad and show off.

"Let me have it now." Mark whispered almost too loudly with a snide look to Grace and then up the beach towards the girl's father. So far no one was looking and he still had time. "Come on… give it back!"

Refusing to budge an inch, Grace stayed off the rocks as she tried to figure out what the boys had found. But when Mark tried to wrench the strangely shaped object from Sammi's hands, her eyes widened in shock as she got a much better look.

"Put it down!" Grace hissed almost fearfully when she saw what Mark Paquin and Sammi Kajla had found in the sandy muck and wedged between two slick, sea-damaged volcanic boulders. Instead of listening to her though, the bickering began to escalate as each boy started to tug the thing roughly between them for ownership.

~ to be continued ~