ʻAʻole i pau kaʻohana i ke koko.
(Family don't end in blood)

Fandom: Hawaii Five-O

Characters (also mentioned): Danny Williams, Rachel Hollander, Grace Williams, Charlie Williams, Steve McGarrett, Five-O members.

ʻAʻole ia he koko e hoʻolilo ai iāʻoe i kaʻohana,ʻo ke aloha a me kaʻoiaʻiʻo

(It's not blood that makes you family, It's love and loyalty)

The relief that Danny had felt when Rachel told him that Grace was out of surgery and was okay, it had been like a huge weight had lifted off his chest, in fact as he sighed out in relief, his body went lax, falling back onto the wall where he was sitting and it wasn't till that moment he realized just how tense he had been the whole time from the moment Rachel knocked on his door to when he heard her say those words.

Knowing your child is hurt, in pain and you can't do anything about it hit Danny hard. As a bit of an overprotective father and a control freak, to know there are things you can't protect your child from, it is a very incomprehensible feeling unless you are a parent. For Danny, it was a struggle to have that control completely ripped away from him, putting his trust in the surgeon's hands was a really hard thing to do.

As soon as he had gotten to the hospital, he had tried to reach out to his parents, however, he as reminded by their answering service that they were unreachable on an around the world cruise. He'd have given anything for his parents to be there for him, however what kept him holding onto his sanity was knowing that he had family right here that were doing all they could for the four of them. As he we waited for news about his daughter, he took some time to think about the individuals he called family on this Island that he now loves to call home.

Though Steve was just as panicked as Danny and Rachel were, having known Grace for nearly ten years, the man that Danny had come to know as his best friend had done everything right. He had been there at the hospital for them, he had been protective of all three of them, Danny, Rachel and Grace when the other girl's father began attacking them, and though HPD might have opened the investigation, it had been made clear to Duke whom also had Grace's best interest at heart that Steve would be running it and HPD would be answering to him and Lou.

They had come a long way from when they needed those therapy sessions, and honestly, he couldn't ask for a better partner. He might not like when Steve did something stupid but he knew he could always trust him and could always count on him especially when it came to protecting his kids. Hell, Steve had even let the kids tak over Steve and Mary's old bedrooms for when the slept over at his house which was a fairly regular occurrence. They had three homes they called home, one with Rachel, one with Danny and one with Steve, Four if you counted Stan's apartment in Vegas.

There was one person he wasn't sure how to get a hold of and that was Catherine Rollins. They had only just seen her recently when she had helped Steve and the team take out Omar Hassan and Agent Greer but he didn't have her number. He knew that Steve must have someway to contact her, he had wondered briefly if he had already spoken to her, but he wasn't sure he was ready to re-open those wounds from when Catherine left yet again. She would be devastated though to hear this news, Cath and Grace were super close though maybe it was best not to let her know till they knew for sure what was going on. He didn't want to bug her and pull her off another CIA mission so soon after she was gone off mission for so long already.

Danny's nephew Eric Russo had come a long way from when he first came to the Island. He had gotten his act together and had been accepted into HPD in their crime lab, and though he seems rather pained at having to go visit him when on duty, truth is, He is really proud of the man he has turned out to be. This would have to be the one time that Eric had gone back to the mainland, back to New Jersey for a friend's wedding that he had been invited to, but he had left word on his answering service to call him as soon as he could. He trusted his kids with Eric funnily enough and knew that he could count on him if he needed him for anything.

It seemed the only other person whom he couldn't get in touch with was Max Bergman. It might sound strange, calling people that weren't related by blood to Grace to let them know what was going on, but these people were her family, even if they weren't her blood. Max had soft spot for Grace and little Charlie, always managing to tone down his scientific explanations when he was around the kids and making things a lot more educational for them, the two of them always happy to go and stay with Uncle Max because they would get to learn something or have Max take them out to a fun spot for some afternoon activity. It was these seemingly little things that showed Danny that Max was a man whom he could trust.

If anyone was going to going to tell Danny that he and Captain Lou Grover would grow to be close friends and have their children dating each other, he wouldn't have believed it at first, but this man had grown on him, and he respected his input and his value to the team and most of all he respected him as a father because he had raised his own children right. Danny could never thank Lou, Renee, Sam and Will enough for always treating his daughter and son like a member of their own family, always letting Grace stay with them if Danny had to head back to Jersey and Rachel was busy.

Though Jerry had been having a well deserved vacation with his girlfriend, he had been updated about Grace's condition through Kamakona and had even considered cutting his vacation short till Danny had texted him back telling him to stay put and to try to enjoy his vacation. He reasoned that Grace wouldn't be happy if he had cut his vacation short for her. Jerry had well and truly become family, and the way that both Grace and Charlie took to him showed that though he was always coming up with conspiracies, he had that charm that kids loved.

Both Kono and Chin Ho had also reached out to him, though she had ended her marriage to Adam, both were now on speaking terms again, and he knew straight away as soon as he found out that they plus Abby and Sara would want to know what was going on. They had wanted to come back to the Island and be there for his family, but both were tied up with cases and it just wasn't something they could do. They had sent her flowers and a card, Sara putting in a Mexican friendship bracelet she had made just for Grace and Charlie as well, Danny sending his thanks back through text and promises he would keep them updated.

It was true that Danny had always been a bit wary of Adam Noshimuri when they had first become acquainted with him, but that was only because of the family he came from, though after finding out that Kono was involved romantically with him, he began to soften a bit as he got to know the man. Kono was someone's opinion he valued greatly and if she could see the good in Adam, then man deserved a chance, and now he had a home permanently on the five-o team and if truth be told, both his kids adored their Uncle Adam. He didn't need to be with Kono to be a member of their family, because he was there because he deserved their support.

It had been strange at first to see Kamakona and Flippa at the hospital, but it had also been very welcome at the same time. Now that he came to think of it, anytime one of them had ever been in hospital, Kamakona had brought food for them so that they weren't stuck eating the not so nice hospital food. It was nice knowing that these two men had his back and though he was always just a haole to them, he was also known as family now as well.

Noelani was a god send to him. When it became evident that HPD were opening up the investigation of the crash, he knew Steve, Lou and Junior would want to run point on it, so he needed someone he could trust to watch Charlie, He couldn't let his son sit in a hospital all day, especially with how stressed out and upset both he and Rachel were. The good doctor had only met Rachel a couple of times before, but she was on point, making sure she got clothes for Grace and also for Rachel, and then made sure that Charlie was excited at spending time with her by making a fun outing with him.

There were certain aspects of Tani Rey that he had seen before in Kono Kalakaua, and it was her fresh look on everything that drew him in, the way she didn't think she was worthy of position with the well known and well decorated governor's task force. It was why Steve and Danny had pushed, they both could see glimpses of Kono in Tani. Not that they were looking to replace Kono, no one would ever replace Kono and Chin, but they needed a woman on the team, someone that women and young girls would feel comfortable talking to, but also strong enough to take down bad guys as well. It helped that Grace got along well with Tani, and it was Tani who she liked going shopping with or to the movies with.

The new and latest recruit to Five-O was Junior Reigns and he had already built up trust within the team. He got Steve because he had been there, in fact.. He often wondered if Junior was just a younger version of Steve. The former SEAL had tried so hard to get on the team and the day he got his badge, he had to admit, even Danny had been touched by it. Knowing that Junior had been working on the case with Steve and Lou, it had warmed his heart. He could have easily worked the overdose case with Tani and Adam, instead he did what he could to help restore Grace's reputation.

Thinking of all these people, It was what got him through that time while waiting for updates, these people were his family, and his support system, and they made sure to take care of Rachel just as much as they did him and that was something he was so thankful for. As much as he had hated the idea of moving to Hawaii, he now loved the place. It was home for his family, and Rachel was wrong to point the blame at herself for deciding to follow Stand out here when she wasn't sure if she should still be with him. If anything, it was the best move she had ever made because it had meant that all of these people that he called family were in their lives and their children's lives. Some day he would need to thank her for that.

Author's Notes:

I was working on a story for Danny and Rachel, one I just posted called To New Beginnings when it began to shape and morph in this way instead and I thought rather then try to fit it into the Rachel and Danny story, I could do a stand alone story about how Danny feels about his Hawaii Five-O Team. Hope you all enjoy this one shot.