Hello everyone! I've been working on this one for a while-I started it not long after the first season ended. This is a one-shot but if there's a good response I could add more. I hope you enjoy it and please share your thoughts!
Grace Williams loves school. Yeah, so what if she's one of the only kids who does? There's no problem with actually enjoying reading and to pay close attention as the kind-hearted Mrs. Kalua teaches the class about the states of matter, how to read maps, and many other interesting things. Grace likes to learn; well, at least every subject other than math.
The other great part about school is being able to see her friends. They sit together at lunch, play games during recess, and even talk during class until Mrs. Kalua patiently reminds them to pay attention.
Grace gets along well with everyone. She stands up for people when they're being bullied, something she knows her daddy is very proud of. She always makes sure to include everybody, even Charlotte, who's quiet and doesn't really have any friends.
Grace has the feeling that Charlotte's going through a hard time. The girl never talks to anyone and keeps her head down when she walks, as if she lacks self-esteem. Several times Grace has asked Charlotte if she'd like to sit with her and her friends at lunch, but Charlotte politely declines, sitting alone every time.
The day starts out no different than any other with Grace hanging up her backback before passing in her homework. She sits down to do the morning work written on the chalk board. She sighs when she sees it's math, but she doesn't waste time. Grace gets right to work, solving all the multiplication problems on the page with no hesitation.
When Mrs. Kalua takes attendance, everyone is present except Charlotte. Grace doesn't think much of it at first. There's been a cold spreading through the class and kids have been absent a lot. Grace takes extra care to stay healthy because her daddy always reminds her to wash her hands so she doesn't catch what the other kids have been coming down with. So even though she hasn't been sick, a lot of her classmates have been. Charlotte's probably not feeling well and that's why she's not at school.
This seems like the case until Charlotte comes in late. Her head is down, just like always, as she puts her backpack away. It's warm in the classroom so she rolls her sleeves up. As she passes in her homework, Charlottle looks like she suddenly realizes something and quickly pulls her sleeves back down. But Grace notices something before Charlotte does this and she has to try hard not to cry.
What Grace had seen was a series of bruises, each distinctly looking like a finger that made up a hand that grabbed Charlotte's arm, not at all gently. It was the same on both arms, Grace noticed, like someone was standing directly in front of Charlotte and grabbed her roughly. The bruises were there on purpose. Someone harmed her. Now it makes sense why Charlotte wears a long sleeve polo every day.
Grace finds it hard to pay attention during class. All she can think of is the sight of the bruises on Charlotte's arms. She has to close her eyes when she imagines the pain the hands must have caused. She doesn't understand how someone can intentionally hurt another person like that. It was just plain mean.
At lunch, Grace slides into the seat across from Charlotte, who's sitting all by herself at a table in the corner of the cafeteria. Grace greets her with a smile. Charlotte simply nods back, her eyes looking sad.
To Grace's horror, she sees a nasty looking cut on the side of Charlotte's face, hidden by the girl's hair if you weren't close enough to see. Like the bruises Grace had seen, the cut looks painful, like the wound stings. She has to get these thoughts out of her head because she's here to talk to Charlotte regarding something serious.
"Are you okay, Charlotte?" Grace asks, getting right to the point. She's never been one to beat around the bush, simply cutting right to the chase, just like her father.
"I'm fine," Charlotte says quietly, her sorrowful voice matching her sad eyes. She gives a small nod as if to back up her point.
But Grace is a good detective, something else she shares in common with her father. She sees right through Charlotte's nod. "Are you sure?" she questions, giving her what's known in the Williams family as "the look." "The look" is something she's seen on her dad's face when he's talking to her about something serious, like a bad grade (which he doesn't have to worry about often since Grace does very well in school) or even when she's in trouble because she didn't listen when she was told to clean her room. That's a time when Grace despises "the look." That's a time when Grace refers to it as "the glare."
"I'm sure," Charlotte states, but Grace notices the hesitation before the words are spoken with a lack of confidence.
The next day, Charlotte barely manages to make it to school on time, nearly being marked tardy again. Grace is horrified to see another cut on her classmate's face. It's tucked under her hair, just like the other one, but Grace is able to see it when she sits across from Charlotte at lunch again.
After lunch, Mrs. Kalua tells the class they're going to watch a movie. Excitement spreads throughout the class, smiles appearing on the students' faces.
"Mrs. Kalua, can we sit wherever we want?" someone asks. The teacher nods and the class cheers as they immediately move to sit near their friends.
Grace notices Charlotte looking unsure of where to sit, so she invites her over with her friends. Nobody should have to be alone, to have to sit by themselves. "Charlotte, come sit with us!"
But one of the girls Grace is sitting with sneers and says, "No, we don't want her sitting with us."
Another girl nods, making the same face. "That's right."
Grace doesn't like when people are mean to each other, so she stands up for Charlotte. "Hey, that's not very nice. How would you feel is someone said that about you?"
Guilty looks become present on the two girls' faces. Grace nods in satisfaction and turns back to Charlotte who has a hurt a look in her eyes. "Come on!"
"They don't want me there," she says sadly and sits down where she is.
Grace walks over to her and takes a seat beside her classmate. "Then I'll sit with you."
Charlotte gives a little smile. "Thank you."
Grace is determined to do something to help Charlotte. Nobody deserves to be hurt in any way. She's seen her daddy, her Uncle Steve, her Uncle Chin, and her Auntie Kono be heroes and save the day. Now it's Grace's turn.
"Goodnight, Monkey. Danno loves you."
"I love you, too."
Danny smiles before kissing his daughter's forehead. He turns the light off and is about to leave when Grace stops him with a question he's not prepared to answer.
"Are not all mommies and daddies nice?" Grace's voice is almost inaudible, as if she's unsure about asking the question. She's sitting up in her bed now and her eyes are traced with sadness as her downcast gaze is focused on her folded hands in her lap.
Danny's worried. It seems like something is truly bothering his little girl. He sighs as he sits beside Grace on the bed. "Do you know someone whose mommy and daddy aren't nice?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure. I saw bruises on Charlotte's arms and it looks like someone grabbed her. She has two cuts on her face," Grace explains in a sad tone. "I thought maybe her mommy or daddy hurt her."
Danny doesn't know what to say, and that doesn't happen often, so he just holds Grace close to him. Eventually he says, "I don't know why not all parents are nice. Tell you what, Grace, how about when I drop you off at school tomorrow, I'll see if Charlotte's mommy or daddy is there, okay?" Danny can see the tears in Grace's eyes and when they start to fall, he rubs her back gently. He hates seeing his little girl in any kind of pain.
Eventually Grace cries herself to sleep, still safely wrapped in her father's protective arms.
"That's Charlotte," Grace points out, looking in the direction of her classmate walking out of the school. Just like two days ago, Charlotte arrived late to school (this time with a busted lip, Grace noticed sadly) so Grace and Danny hadn't been able to see her this morning.
The sun was very strong today and the school's air condition wasn't working. Charlotte had no choice but to pull her long sleeves up, revealing only the end of the series of bruises on her arms, not distinct enough to see the evidence of someone grabbing her. Mrs. Kalua noticed them and asked Charlotte how she got hurt.
"I fell off my bike," Charlotte had replied, and the way she said the words made it sound like the truth. But Grace could tell the line was rehearsed, planned to be said perfectly.
Charlotte walks to a car in the far end of the parking lot. Danny can see the bruises on her arms and the busted lip Grace just told him about. He sees a woman step out of the car and practically shove Charlotte in.
Danny's seen enough. As soon as the car Charlotte's in pulls out of the parking lot, he starts to follow from a distance, not close enough so the driver is aware. He calls Steve and tells him what's going on. He has a bad feeling about this. He tells Steve the address and the name Charlotte Keenan. It doesn't take long for Steve to call back.
"We searched for records of people with the last name 'Keenan.' Jeffrey Keenan is currently serving time at Halawa and his wife, Heather Keenan, was being treated for alcohol abuse until two months ago. Their daughter, Charlotte, was in a foster home at the time. Chin, Kono, and I are on our way there."
"Alright." Danny hits the "end" button on his phone and puts it down.
"Daddy, are we going to save Charlotte?" Grace asks hopefully from the backseat.
Danny nods, equally hopeful because not only does he know how important this is to his daughter, but it'll make him feel better to know a little girl the same age as Grace will be safe if all goes well. "She'll be okay. Don't worry, Monkey."
But Grace can't help worrying. Charlotte's mommy is mean to her and that's not how parents are supposed to be. They're supposed to be nice and loving and caring like Grace's own mommy and daddy.
"Uncle Steve's here," Grace points out when she sees the blue Silverado pull up. "Is he going to help us save Charlotte?"
"Yes. Grace, listen, you have to stay in the car. You can't go in the house, okay?" Danny keeps his tone firm in order to make sure his daughter knows how serious this is.
"But I just want to make sure Charlotte's okay." She's pouting and she knows that's really immature, but hey, she's only nine, after all.
"I know you do, Monkey, but you need to stay here." He should have known Grace would fight him on this. She's a good kid, really, a fantastic, well-behaved kid, but she's a lot like himself in the sense that she doesn't back down easily.
"But Daddy!" Grace starts to protest, but Danny stops her.
"Grace Elizabeth, I mean it. Am I going to have to stay with you?" His tone is stern and "the look" appears on his face.
"Daddy-" Grace begins angrily, but her father holds up a hand to stop her.
"I guess I am." Danny's tone leaves no room for argument.
Grace crosses her arms and glares at her father. All she wants to do is help Charlotte and she can't do that by sitting in the car. Why doesn't Daddy understand?
Steve, Chin, and Kono don't waste any time, quickly making their way over to the Camaro. They're surprised to find Danny making no signs of getting out of the car.
"You're not coming?" Steve asks, a puzzled expression present on his face.
Danny nods and turns to look at his daughter briefly before facing Steve again. "I'm staying here with Grace."
Steve can tell by Danny's tone that it wasn't easy to get Grace to remain in the car. He understands, though, because Grace was, after all, the one who began this "rescue mission" in the first place. "Alright." He turns toward the house and Chin and Kono follow him as he walks to the front door.
Grace doesn't want to look. Of course she won't be able to see anything going on inside the house as she sits in the backseat of the car, but for some reason she still can't bring herself to watch as Charlotte's mother opens the door.
Danny notices that Grace has been quiet for a little while now. He turns to see her head down, her gaze focused on the backpack sitting beside her feet. He sighs, knowing this is going to require a speech. That's always necessary when Grace is feeling down. She's very hard on herself and it takes a speech from her father to lift her spirits. "I know you really wanted to go in and help save Charlotte, but I want you to be safe, Monkey. You've already helped your friend. Do you know that?"
Grace shakes her head and sends her dad a confused look. Already helped Charlotte? How has she done that? "What do you mean, Daddy?"
"We wouldn't be here to save Charlotte if it wasn't for you, Grace," Danny explains with pride in his voice. His daughter played a major role in saving her classmate from an abusive home. She's a great detective already, even if Danny doesn't want to think about his little girl becoming a cop.
Sighing, Grace stares out the window, finally looking at the house. The door is closed and everyone is inside. She guesses there's probably some yelling going on and she's thankful that she doesn't have to hear any of it. "Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't tell you something if I wasn't sure of what I was saying." Danny smiles at Grace as he reaches back to pull her close to him.
"No, you wouldn't," Grace agrees with a small smile because she knows her daddy would never even consider lying to her about something as important as this.
"How about we drive down the street for a little bit?" Danny suggests, still holding Grace close to him.
Grace nods and pulls away so she can sit back down. She doesn't want to look at the house any longer, except maybe to see Charlotte leaving safely.
Danny starts the car and drives down the street, thinking about how he used to do this when Grace was a baby and the poor kid couldn't sleep. He remembers how she started to fuss, never actually crying, until he brought her out to the car and put her in her carseat. That was nine years ago. A lot has changed since then, and at first it seemed that the changes weren't good, but now Danny sees how much better things have gotten.
"Daddy?" Grace suddenly breaks the silence in the car. "What's..." She pauses, not sure if she should ask the question she wants to ask or not.
"What's the matter, Monkey?" Danny asks, prompting his daughter to continue.
"What's gonna happen if...if..." Her voice is getting softer as she goes on. "If they can't save Charlotte?"
"What do you mean?"
"If they can't get her away from her mommy," Grace further explains.
Danny doesn't know how to explain that there's enough evidence of child abuse to take Charlotte away from her mother. He also doesn't mention that he's pretty sure Kono would show Heather Keenan just how strong her right hook is if the woman tried to give them any trouble. He settles on saying, "You know how strong Steve, Chin, and Kono are, right?"
Grace nods which is Danny's cue to continue.
"That means there's no way they're going to let Charlotte stay with her mom. They're going to save her."
Grace certainly hopes so.
"You have no right to do this!" Heather screams, standing in front of the staircase in an attempt to keep the Five-0 team from going upstairs. "Leave my daughter alone! She doesn't feel good!"
"Really? What's making her feel that way?" Kono's eyes are like ice as she glares at the woman in front of her. "Does she have a cold? Maybe a fever? I don't think so. I think it's you."
Chin isn't planning on stopping Kono from punching Heather Keenan. But judging by the look on his cousin's face, he might have to step in and prevent Kono from severely hurting her.
"How dare you accuse me of-"
"Shut up!" Kono yells, taking a step forward, which causes Heather to slightly cower back.
"Kono," Chin says quietly and gives her a pointed look when she turns in his direction.
Kono realizes she has to calm down. But that's not really her style. She wants to...she can't even say what she wants to do. She takes a deep breath to try to get a hold of herself.
"Listen to me very carefully." Kono's voice is calmer now, but it's deadly calm where anyone would be a fool to even try to mess with her. "You need to move out of the way so we can go upstairs."
"Don't tell me what to do, bitch," Heather snaps, crossing her arms as she says so.
Kono raises her arm to hit her but she thinks better of doing so when Chin clears his throat to get her attention. She faces him again, understanding what her cousin is trying to tell her. She shouldn't sink to Heather's level. Instead she lets her arm fall back to her side, but both her fists remain clenched.
"Now get the fuck out of my house!" Heather's scream is enough to get Charlotte out of her room who runs to the top of the stairs.
"What's going on?" the girl questions nervously, a look of fear on her face as she takes in the sight of her mother standing in front of three people who she can tell are police officers because of the badges they all wear.
"Go back to your room!" Heather yells and Charlotte quickly retraces her steps back down the hallway. It's clear that she's afraid of her mother and the three Five-0 members standing at the bottom of the stairs have sad looks on their faces as they watch the scene in front of them.
"How can you talk to a kid like that?" Kono asks, shaking her head. She's trying to stay calm but it's not working very well for her.
Heather doesn't answer. No, instead she lunges forward and attempts to push Kono to the ground. Unfortunately for her, Heather has no idea just how strong the rookie cop is. Kono easily throws her away, sending Charlotte's abusive mother flying to the tile floor.
"You shouldn't have done that," Kono says, stating the obvious as she pulls Heather off the ground. She cuffs her and leads her out of the house with Chin right behind them, reciting the Miranda rights.
After watching the cousins lead Heather Keenan out of the house, Steve heads upstairs to find Charlotte. When he comes across the room where she's sitting on the floor shaking, he sadly takes in the sight of the mostly empty room that's not suitable for someone to live in.
Steve walks over and sits down beside Charlotte, not really sure of what to say. He's not good with kids, except for Grace who took a while to warm up to him. He knows he has to say something, so he starts speaking, hoping the words he says will make sense.
"You're safe now," he says awkwardly. At least his words cause Charlotte to reduce her sobs to cries as she turns to look at him.
"Who are you?" she asks in a timid voice. She bites her lip as she waits for a reply.
"I'm Steve. I'm a police officer." He tries his best to keep his voice gentle, but even he can hear the awkwardness in his tone. He's not used to talking to kids.
Charlotte nods in understanding as she wipes her tears away. "I'm Charlotte," she introduces herself.
Steve smiles before saying, "I'm going to go downstairs. There's a classmate of yours waiting for us. Do you want to come, too?"
"Okay," Charlotte says simply as she wipes more tears from her eyes. She's still crying and Steve's worried about how he should handle the situation.
Steve rises to his feet and then lifts Charlotte off the ground, holding her close to him as she lets her tears flow down her face. As Steve walks out of the room and begins to make his way downstairs, he notices that Charlotte is very underweight and he can see cuts on her face along with a busted lip. Who could do this to a child?
"Wait," Charlotte says suddenly and the urgency in her voice is enough to make Steve stop when he gets to the bottom of the stairs.
"Is something wrong?" What a dumb thing to say, he tells himself because obviously, there's a lot wrong.
"My mommy is gonna be so mad," she replies, a whole new wave of tears streaming down her face. "I need to tell her I'm sorry!" She burries her face in her hands as sobs start to shake her small, malnourished body.
Not knowing what else to do, Steve sits at the bottom of the stairs. He decides to let Charlotte calm down before bringing her out of the house.
"No!" Charlotte yells through her cries. "No, I have to go tell my mommy I'm sorry! I'm not supposed to leave!"
"You don't have to see your mommy again," Steve explains, but he's worried now because the little girl is in hysterics and he has no idea of what to do. He's debating if he should go get Danny or not but decides against it, knowing Grace is in the car with him.
"Really?" Charlotte questions, wiping tears away from her eyes.
Steve nods and replies, "Really. Are you ready to leave now?" He tries to keep his voice gentle.
"You promise I don't have to see Mommy again?" She shakes slightly as she says this.
"I promise," Steve says sincerely.
"Okay."
Relieved he didn't need to call Danny, Steve stands up and carries Charlotte out of the house she will never live in again.
Charlotte can't help shaking and crying as she sits on the floor in her room because it's cold and she's scared and she just wants this all to be over.
She hears someone walk in the room but she doesn't want to see who it is. She just hopes it's not her mommy because then she'd be in big trouble.
Then a man starts talking. "You're safe now."
Charlotte wonders if he knows how mean her mommy is. He might even be here to rescue her, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. She bites her lip and looks up at him. "Who are you?"
"I'm Steve. I'm a police officer."
He really is here to save her! Charlotte knows the police help people and he must be helping her get away from her mommy. "I'm Charlotte."
"I'm going downstairs. There's a classmate of yours waiting for us. Do you want to come, too?"
There's a classmate waiting for them? Who is it? She hopes it's Grace Williams because everyone else can be very mean, but Grace is always really nice. "Okay." She wipes her eyes but she can't stop all the tears. She doesn't want the police officer named Steve to think she's a crybaby like her mommy says she is.
Charlotte watches as the nice police officer stands up. Then he lifts her up and leaves the room. Officer Steve is really tall and very strong and has tattoos and all of that makes Charlotte a little afraid of him, but he's nice and he's here to save her.
When Steve starts to carry her down the stairs, Charlotte remembers she has to do something. "Wait!"
"Is something wrong?" Officer Steve asks her.
"My mommy is gonna be so mad. I need to tell her I'm sorry!" Charlotte tries to get out of his arms but he's too strong. When he sits down at the bottom of the stairs, she yells, "No! No, I have to go tell my mommy I'm sorry! I'm not supposed to leave!" Why doesn't Officer Steve understand?
But then he says, "You don't have to see your mommy again."
Is he telling the truth? Is he lying? "Really?"
She sees Steve nod as he says, "Really. Are you ready to leave now?"
He's a police officer so he must be telling the truth, but she stills asks, "You promise I don't have to see Mommy again?"
"I promise," Steve tells her and she believes him.
After she thinks about it for a minute, she says, "Okay."
Charlotte's happy because now three people are nice to her: Mrs. Kalua, Grace Williams, and Officer Steve.
Soon Steve carries her outside.
Grace is half asleep as Danny stares at the door to the house, waiting for Steve to come out with Charlotte. It's been a little while since Kono and Chin brought Heather Keenan out of the house in handcuffs. It shouldn't take this long to bring Charlotte out and Danny can't help but worry.
Finally, after what seems like a day has passed, Steve walks out the door of the house with Charlotte in his arms. A wave of relief washes over Danny as he turns around to wake up a now asleep Grace. He reaches to put his hand on her shoulder and says, "Gracie, wake up, honey. You need to see something."
Rubbing her eyes, Grace sits up and leans towards the window. She sees her Uncle Steve walking away from the house and he's carrying Charlotte. He saved her.
Grace's face breaks out into a grin as she watches the scene in front of her. She did it. She helped save Charlotte.