Of Surprises and Sandcastles, a hawaii five-0 fanfic

Danny Williams has learned many things about his valiant partner over the few years they've been working together. One of which, the one that has the Hawaiian word Ohana rolling a bit easier off his tongue, is that he is full of surprises. Not the dangling suspects from rooftops, or throwing them in shark cages kind of surprises, and definitely not the going in without back up or something equally half-cocked as if he didn't even need a bullet proof vest kind of surprises, because all of those things are more like characteristics of Steve McGarrett. Those things are as natural and expected as the blue of his irises or that nerve-killing half smirk he twists his face into as if he wants to make sure he's annoyed Danny as much as possible.

The kind of surprises Steve's able to pull off are more likely to end up on the inside of a Hallmark card, the kind with a random picture on the front to clue you in to the meaning inside then followed up with a straight to the point one-liner and a signature without a closing because even that is just too much emotion to convey, rather than his usual escapades that could end up in an article of Guns and Ammo.

In the three, going on four, years they've been partners, Danny has been surprised more times than he keep track of. That's not to say he can't recollect each one of them, because he undoubtedly can, but as far as the number goes, he just quit counting because quality it more important than quantity in every sense of the phrase he can think of.

However, it's situations like the one they're in now that have Danny trying to estimate the number because he wants to use it as evidence to curse the world for trying to cheat 5-0, himself and his precious little angel of a daughter out of the amount they deserve. She's only eight years old after-all and he knows for a fact that she doesn't have enough memories of her Uncle Steve picking her up from school and taking her the long way back to Rachel's house that runs alongside the ocean just so he can tell her all kinds of stories from his time in the Navy and dazzle her impressionable mind with more details than Danny would approve of. But, he's also learned from smart-ass remarks by McGarrett that Steve isn't the only one telling stories and Danny vows that when Grace is older he's going to keep the embarrassing ammunition she's given his partner in mind when she brings home an 'unacceptable' boyfriend.

The first time Steve picked Grace up from school when Danny couldn't make it on time had been a surprise in itself, but when he kept willingly volunteering as if he wanted nothing more than to stop the G.I. Joe simulation and become Gracie's Uncle Steve, Danny's eyebrows were on the verge of staying as humped up as his hair. It wasn't until a few days later though that the real shock came when Steve nonchalantly muttered something along the lines of 'son of a bitch Step-Stan' that Danny realized maybe he drove the long way home so that Grace's time in the clutches of a man that not only Danny himself hated, but that Steve loathed as well, would be as minimal as possible. When asked in the middle of a bickering conversation fit for an old married couple, Steve explained his actions in a precise manner that sounded oddly like a mission rather than an actual human being doing something nice, but Danny just let the subject drop and let McGarrett wear his aneurysm face for the rest of the drive.

It's things like that, and Steve's presence at funeral for a man he never knew with the explanation of "I know you" being enough to warrant his dress blues and the kindest expression he can manage, that surprise Danny. You would think after enough moments of Steve being 'human' that the detective would get used to it, not be surprised by the amount of loyalty and love that McGarrett had for people he considered to be his Ohana. But Steve can show up at the trial for Grace's custody with a sloppy tie in support of him, and he can stand directly beside him prepared to be blown into a million pieces while he's verbalizing a certainty he isn't sure of just for Danno's sake, or swim in shark infested water to try and get a slightly fearful Danny back to shore before the detective can steal what's rightfully his aneurysm face and Danny will still be surprised by the next extraordinarily human act of kindness that Steve manages to pull off.

So when Danny is running alongside Chin and Kono to the edge of the dense jungle where he can see his daughter standing behind a disarmed Steve, holding onto his leg, her face half hidden in the cargo pant, both standing in front of a man with a gun pressed directly into Steve's forehead, he knows that without a doubt Steve is about to do something so extraordinarily human that it actually makes him more like Superman instead. But even at a distance he knows that not even kryptonite would keep Grace's Superman from keeping her safe and when Steve's left arm moves out of it's surrendered posture to turn the rest of his niece's face into his leg Danny knows he is shielding her from finding out the truth, from finding out that while every hero has something to live for, there's one thing they'll die for even more.

Once while sitting on the beach making an interesting sandcastle while watching Uncle Steve, Kono and Chin surf, Grace looked up at him with curious eyes and asked, "Danno, do you think Uncle Steve will like my sandcastle?" He hadn't given it much thought, just a small smile after a short glance out into the water at the man in question. "Sure do, Monkey. Just make sure its got tight military security in place to keep the crabs away." She grinned widely at him. "I really hope he likes it!" Danny cast her a curious glance, placing his bottle of beer aside and asked, "Why is it such a big deal for his approval?" hoping that it wasn't something Step-Stan had instilled in his daughter. She had looked at him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and replied, "Because we can't take it with us and we didn't bring a camera! I want Uncle Steve to remember the sandcastle I built for him because he told me one time on one of our car rides by the ocean that when he is away on a mission and misses home he thinks about the water, surfing and all the sand here! If he thinks about sandcastles maybe he will think about us, too, Danno!"

If only Grace had the insight to read between the lines McGarrett draws, Danny had thought at the moment but didn't say anything though, because Steve appeared beside them, plopping down in the sand beside Grace slinging the excess water out of his hair making the little girl giggle and shield herself before eagerly showing him the sandcastle. He mirrored her grin the entire time she showed him her architecture and didn't even mention points of weakness in security if it ever came under attack and Danny knew that every time Steve thought about the sand, he'd think about Grace building sandcastles and he also knew Steve never wanted Grace to see him as anything less than Superman, because maybe being Uncle Steve just wasn't enough.

Danny, Chin and Kono are closing in on them at such a pace that it makes the detective's chest ache with each blow his pounding heart delivers because as much as he wants to shoot first and not even ask questions later, they still aren't close enough to shoot accurately at a gunman standing directly in front of his daughter and partner. He can see the man's thumb cock the weapon and Steve's left arm tighten around Grace, before he can hear McGarrett's strong stoic voice turned into a plea, "Please don't hurt, her. She's just a kid."

If it weren't for a child, his child, in danger Danny would almost throw his hands up in the air and start ranting on the spot about a man who would plead for someone else's life when there's a gun resting on his forehead threatening his own. Instead, Danny's ragged breath catches in his throat and he nearly wants to throw up at the waver in Steve's voice he's only heard once before when his partner had said his name in the back of the truck he found him in after being tortured by Wo Fat. But the man must have said something, done something, thought something, that McGarrett wouldn't accept, because he says, "I swear to God if you hurt her, I'll find a way to kill you," and his voice is back to being strong and is so spine-chilling that for a brief moment Danny wonders if maybe the gunman wasn't the one to say it, but the man's hand quivers causing the gun to falter in its threatening position and suddenly Steve's left hand is no longer around Grace and he's gently but effectively shaking her off his leg, screaming at her to "Run to Danno," and for the love of all things, "Don't look back!"

Grace does as she's told, and under any other situation Danny might have wondered if it was because of Steve's Naval Commander voice or for another reason entirely, but he's so glad she does because as Steve struggles with gunman his daughter finds her way into his arms. She hugs him tight, burying her face in his neck, but saying Uncle Steve's name after every time she says, "Danno."

"Shh. Shh. Baby, it's alright. Everything's okay." He comforts, but it's so far from the truth that he worries she will never trust him again, because he can see the gunman escape Steve's blows and hold for the brief second he needs to raise the gun in the direction of himself and Grace. It happens so fast, even with his skills as a detective he knows he can't move fast enough. However, there's a blur of movement as he does his best to protect Grace when the sound of the gun goes off and when he feels nothing he immediately checks Grace to see she is unscathed as well.

Steve's reminded him of his cynical side plenty of times, but Danny has his moments when he hopes against all hope and he does just that. He turns his attention back to the gunman to see him and Steve once again standing directly in front of one another, but this time it plays out different. Steve slowly drops to his knees, the gunman staring at him in shock until the sound of more gunfire rings out in the jungle, causing Danny and Grace to jump and the gunman to be dead before he hits the ground thanks to Chin and Kono.

But Steve slumps over on his side holding his stomach and in an instant Chin, Kono, Danny and Grace are at his side. Chin keeps pressure on the wound in Steve's abdomen while Kono calls for an Army E-Vac. Grace wiggles to get down and the both of them kneel beside the injured member of their family who looks up at them through already glassy eyes.

"I don't even know what to say to you, you stupid, yet-" Already breathless and not even halfway into his ramble, Steve cuts him off in a tight voice, "Danno."

And the one word tells Danny that no matter how long a lecture, Steve will never think he did the wrong thing because he was just doing his job and he was damn good at it, too.

"Uncle Steve!" Grace calls wobbly, and suddenly Steve's tight face smoothes out and Danny knows it takes every fiber of McGarrett to pull it off.

"Heyyy, Gracie. You okay?"

"Yes! I did what you said, but you got hurt!"

"Nah, it's just a scratch. I've had wor-" he starts to say, but then thinks better of it when he sees the water in Grace's eyes. He starts to shiver because he feels strangely cool despite the heat of the island and feels Chin press harder on his stomach. He swallows thickly before asking, "Hey...you remember that sandcastle you built the last time we went to the beach?"

She smiles widely, and instantly Steve can hear the roar of the ocean and feel the grit of the sand all around him. "Uh huh! You remembered!"

"Of-of course I did! That was the best sandcastle I've ever seen, but the next time we go do you think I can...help you build one?" He grins as much as he can muster and maybe even a little more than he possibly could because it was for his Gracie after all and she grins right back at him and starts telling him exactly how she wants to go about building one and then he's no longer bleeding from a gunshot wound in the middle of the jungle. Instead, he's siting on the beach building a sandcastle with Grace while Danno sips on a beer eyeing all the ladies unbeknownst to his daughter of course, while Chin and Kono ride the waves and Kamekona tries to market his business.

It isn't until he wakes up in a hospital a few days later, surrounded by his Ohana, with Grace perched up on the side of the bed saying, "Uncle Steve you're awake! Danno said you've been asleep so long because you were having a really good dream! What was it about?"

Later he will chalk it up to the pain medication, but he smiles goofily at her, despite every one in the room, and replies wholeheartedly, "Sandcastles" and Danny is sure he's never seen someone other than him or Rachel make his daughter so happy.

So when Danny's birthday rolls around a month later and he walks into his office to find a card laying on his desk with a neatly written and underlined, "Danno" on the front he knows exactly who it is from. He opens the envelope and pulls out a card that makes him laugh, because on the front is just a picture of a sandcastle and on the inside it simply reads:

"Happy Birthday, Brah."

-Steve

A moment later, Steve walks in saying nothing of the matter in Danny's hands and already looks like he's impatiently waiting to leave before he can even tell Danny where they are headed off to. Danny wastes no time and puts the card in his desk as McGarrett explains why they are going somewhere for a case, and makes his way out the door followed by his partner.

But when they get to the car, Steve stops after he opens the driver's side door, causing Danny to do the same on the other side. "What? You actually considering letting me drive my own car on my birthday?"

Steve looks like he's about to say something serious, maybe even have a normal human interaction, but then he just gives him that lopsided smirk that already has Danny clenching his teeth before his partner can even say something to annoy him. "No. I just remembered something funny Grace told me yesterday about when you were in middle school and wondering if I should ask you or Rachel for more clarification."

Danny just grits his teeth harder and gets in the car, knowing that while Steve is full of surprises, he doesn't get them every day.

AN: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!