Shark Bait Chapter 1
A/N: I think I'm going to try to write fanfiction again because, hey, why not? I really do miss it and it's been like 5 months since I've last written. I think this is going to be 2-4 chapters, depending on where I go with it. I wanted to do this because (a.) nothin' I love more than Steve whump and (b.) There's gotta be some danger in that big blue ocean, am I right?
"Danno, it's time to leave," Grace told her father. "We're going to be late to go to Uncle Steve's!"
"I'm coming, Monkey, give me a second," Danny replied. He started stuffing all of the essentials into a few bags to bring to Steve's. He had all the bathing suits, towels, and sunscreen (100 SPF, he didn't want himself or Grace to get burnt) in one bag and some long boards and food in the other.
"Come on, Danno!" Grace exclaimed.
"Okay, okay, let's go," he said as he opened the front door.
"Did you get my surfboard?" Grace asked.
Danny kind of hoped she forgot about that thing. "No, I didn't think that you'd want to go surfing today. Ya know, it kinda looks like it's going to rain." Both he and Grace looked up at the clear blue sky. Damn it.
"The sky is blue, there are no clouds in the sky, silly! It's a perfect day to go surfing."
"Okay, fine, I'll go get it. Why don't you meet me in the car?"
"Okay Danno."
Danny walked back into his small dump he calls an apartment and picked up Grace's surfboard that was on the bed in her 'room'. He carried it outside, only bumping the back of the board into the walls a few times. It was a new record.
He strapped the board to the top of the Camaro and got in the driver's seat.
"You ready to go?" he asked his daughter.
"Yes, I've been ready for a while!" Grace said.
Danny smiled a little then started to pull out of his parking spot. They drove for a small amount of time until they pulled up in Steve's driveway. Grace quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and bounded out of the car. She wasted no time knocking on the door, just walked right on in. Danny laughed silently from inside the car while his daughter's body disappeared inside the house. He opened the door and picked up all his bags. He carried them inside to be greeted by Steve talking to Grace who was sitting on the counter.
"I'm really excited to go surfing with you today, Uncle Steve. Kono told me that you were one of the best surfers that she's ever met other than herself. That means you must be pretty good, but I don't think anyone's better than Kono," Grace rambled.
"Well, I'm glad to go surfing with you too, Grace. We just have to be extra careful today or else Danno's going to yell at us, don't you think?"
"Yeah, Danno does get scared when I go in the water. That's okay, though, because he still lets me go in anyway."
"That's right," Danny cut in, "Because I'm the best dad out there." He had a smile plastered on his face.
"Not so sure about that, Danny," Steve said with a smirk. "Let's go, Grace. You have your surfboard and bathing suit ready?" Steve asked the child as he pulled her of the counter and started walking away. He left Danny in the kitchen opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. He was a great father!
Grace quickly changed into her bathing suit and grabbed her surfboard from the Camaro with Steve's help. They met Danny back on the beach where they both slathered some sunscreen on. Grace was forced to have 100 SPF sun block covering every inch of her body that was exposed to the sun. Steve laughed at Danny's worrying.
"Steve you better take care of my Monkey. No waves that are too big, no drowning, no currents dragging her out, and make sure to stay shallow enough that she can stand. I expect her to come back in one piece. Make sure-" Danny's rambling was cut off by Grace.
"We'll be fine. By Danno," she said. Steve and Grace both walked toward the water and dove right in. Danny watched them paddling around in the water for a few minutes until he grabbed a beach chair and settled down in it. By now, it looked as though Steve was giving Grace a few tips by the way he was gesturing to their boards and the waves. He watched as Grace caught one of the smaller waves and barely managed to stay on the board. She returned back to Steve.
Next, it was Steve's turn. He quickly caught a really large wave and started showing off. He cut through the wave smoothly and ran his hands through the wave. He jumped off the board at the end of the wave then started to paddle back out a little deeper to where Grace was watching. She clapped and cheered when Steve came into hearing distance. Danny smiled. He might not have been happy that his daughter was in that water because of all the potential dangers, but he did see that connection that Super SEAL and his daughter had. Steve didn't seem like the kind of guy that would be good with little girls, but it seemed as if it was the most natural thing ever to him.
Danny was snapped out of his thoughts by Grace's shrill scream.
.H50.H50.H50.H50.
The water was a little murky that day. The water was a bit choppy which kicked up the sand at the bottom of the ocean. It still had some visibility, but they could barely see their feet that were settled on the ground.
"The water's a little choppy today so we have to be extra careful, okay?"
Grace nodded her understanding.
"The waves are really big today, too. I haven't ridden on anything this big before," she said over the roar of the waves.
"I guess today is a good day for firsts then, huh? Big waves feel amazing if you manage to catch them. It's like you're floating on a cloud. You'll understand how it feels once you get a good one. Why don't you try to catch one now and I'll watch. I just need to see how you get up on the board and everything so I can give you some tips."
"Okay, Uncle Steve. Which one should I get?" she asked.
"Just wait it out, I'll tell you when I see a good one."
They sat floating on their boards for a moment when a wave that was on the smaller side started to form.
"You see that one out there?" Steve asked Grace. She nodded. "I think that one looks perfect for you."
"Okay, watch me." She started paddling, ready to pick up the wave. She caught it easily on her first try, standing on the board with wobbly legs. She somehow managed to stay on the board even though her balance wasn't quite right. She finished off the wave then started paddling back to Steve.
"That was really great, Gracie! You'll probably be better than even me or Kono when you're older!" Steve praised.
"You really think so?"
"Of course I do. Now, I only saw one problem. You looked a little unbalanced on the board. You need to bend your knees a little more so you move with the wave and not on top of it. If you hold your arms out a little more, that could help too."
"Okay, I'll try that next time. But it's your turn now. I want to see you catch a wave."
"You got it. Stay here, I'll make this a quick one."
Steve just caught the first wave he could. It was a decent size and speed. He easily stood on the board and started weaving through the wave, brushing his hand against the smooth side of the wave. He jumped off a little before it was over, but he didn't want to leave Grace out by herself for too long. Danny would kill him if something happened to her. He paddled his board back out to Grace. She started to tell him that he was really good when it happened.
At first, it was just a small bump on the bottom of Grace's surfboard.
"Uncle Steve…" she murmured, but Steve had seen her board shift suddenly, too.
"Grace, pick your legs out of the water slowly. Put them on your board," he whispered calmly. "Try to balance without putting your arms or legs in the water. It could be nothing, but I want to be careful just in case."
Grace did as she was told, carefully dragging her arms and legs out of the water while Steve did the same. Suddenly, something nudged Grace's board hard. It was enough for Grace to have to drop her arm back in the water to keep her balance on the board. The thing grabbed her arm quickly and started to pull her under, but Steve was quicker. He dove off his own board and managed to kick the thing (which he now knew was a shark) in the snout as hard as he could. It released Gracie's arm and Steve pulled her out of the water and settled her down on her board.
"Gracie, I need you to be brave for me. Catch a wave on your board until you get out of the water. Don't look back and don't get in the water," he said right before the shark pulled him under. Grace screamed as loud as she possibly could, but did as Steve told her. She started to paddle and caught a wave on her first try. She rode it in, using Steve's tips for balance, and managed to stay on the board until the tails on her board started dragging on the sand.
"Gracie, baby, are you okay?" Danny asked her as she stepped onto the beach.
"Danno, Uncle Steve's still out there!" she cried hysterically. "You need to help him! Danno…"
"I know, baby, I know. Let me see your arm," he said frantically. There were a few tiny puncture marks around her upper arm. "Does it hurt?"
"Yes. Danno, please help Uncle Steve," she sniffed.
Danny started to peel of his shoes and socks, knowing that if he didn't, he'd surely drown. He wasn't a great swimmer without shoes, let alone with shoes. "I'll be right back, baby, stay here and get away from the water," he instructed quickly. He started to wade into the water when Steve's head broke the surface some ways out. There was blood surrounding him. There was a lot.
"Steve!" Danny shouted.
"Danny, don't get in, I'm okay," Steve called weakly back. He started to swim back to shore at a speed that Danny couldn't have even swam at uninjured. Steve amazed him sometimes.
"That's right, babe, come on," Danny muttered to himself. Steve was only about 10 yards away at that point. Danny walked out deeper into the water to meet Steve. He slung one of Steve's arms over his shoulders and helped guide him back to the beach.
"Where're you hurt, babe?" Danny asked gently. He searched around Steve's upper body but found nothing other than a few bite marks on his right forearm.
"My foot, 't's pretty messed up," he whispered weakly as they reached the sand.
Danny looked down at Steve's leg. It was a mangled heap of tissue, muscle, and bone. Danny felt sick at the sight of his partner's leg. All that stuff was supposed to be inside his body.
"Grace, I need you to go back inside and call 9-1-1 on the landline. Just tell them that we need an ambulance at this address," Danny told Grace. "Please hurry."
Grace ran inside as quickly as she could and did as Danny had told her. She told the operator that she needed an ambulance and the operator said they'd be there in about 10 minutes. She ran back outside to see her dad taking off his shirt and wrapping it around Steve's left leg.
"Danno…?" Grace said, her bottom lip quivering.
"He's okay, Gracie. I need you to be brave for me and grab the towels that I packed and bring them over," Danny instructed. Grace walked swiftly to the bags and pulled out the three towels and brought them to Danny.
"Thank you, baby. How is your arm? Do you need me to look at it?" he questioned, not even looking up from Steve's leg.
"No, it doesn't even hurt that much anymore."
"That's good, Monkey, that's good. I need you to go back inside to show the ambulance where to go when it gets here. Can you do that?"
"Yes, Danno," she said before running inside. Honestly, Danny didn't want Grace to see Steve like that. She thought he was invincible Super SEAL and thought he couldn't get hurt. Only that wasn't true.
"I'm c-cold," Steve muttered through chattering teeth.
"I know, I'll warm you up soon. You'll be okay." Danny applied more pressure to Steve's leg, trying to staunch the bleeding.
Steve cried out in pain for a split second before it turned into a groan.
"Grace… Gracie? She okay?" Steve asked. His voice sounded breathy.
"She's okay, thanks to you, buddy. Thank you."
"Good. Th-that's good. 'M tired… Sleep…"
"No, no, don't you dare fall asleep," Danny commanded. Steve's eyes started to slip shut despite Danny's warnings. He tapped Steve's cheeks none too gently. Steve moaned as his eyes fluttered back open.
In the distance, sirens could be heard and Danny thanked everyone and everyone that Steve would get help soon.
"Dannoo… Not gonna make it…" he breathed.
"Shut up, McGarrett, don't bail on me now. You're doing great, man. Keep it up," he encouraged. Steve's eyes slipped shut once again and Danny couldn't help but notice how pale Steve's face was and how his lips seemed bloodless.
"Don't do this to me, man," Danny whispered as he heard the ambulance pull up.
A/N: So, first chapter right here. Ya like it? Love it? Absolutely hate it? Well, either way, let me know. Thanks for reading! I'll see you all next chapter.