PART II - CHAPTER ONE

Title: "Salvation Series: It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"

Author: Michelle Heath

Rating: MA for adult situations and language

Summary: Story #10 in the Salvation Series.

Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-O; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!

Date Written: September 29, 2016

(True to her word, Libby calls Steve's cellular phone as soon as she gets home with Emily. Putting her cellular phone on speaker, Libby hands her granddaughter the phone as soon as it starts to ring. As soon as Steve answers, Emily immediately starts saying, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy", and giggling excitedly.)

"Hey, Emily, how's Daddy's baby girl?"

"Me at Ganma's!"

"I know you're at Ganma's, Em. Did you know you were going to spend the night with her and Ganpa?"

"Yep! Mommy sick."

"Your Mommy is sick and she and I don't want you to get sick so you're going to stay with Ganma and Ganpa, okay."

"Want my Mommy!"

(And both Sam and Steve can hear the change in their daughter's voice that alerts them to the fact that she's about to start crying and Sam quickly leans closer to her husband, who also has his phone on speaker, and responds.)

"Emily, Baby, you know that Mommy and Daddy love you so much, don't you?"

"Yep! Want Mommy!"

"Em, the doctor gave Mommy some medicine so I won't be sick anymore, but it's going to take a little time for me to get better. You'll have fun at Ganma's and Ganpa's."

(But, proving, once again, that she is definitely Sam's and Steve's daughter and, therefore, quite stubborn. Emily responds by raising her little voice to full volume and also begins crying.)

"WANT! MOMMY!"

(Sam's eyes are tearing up now, and Steve slips an arm around her and sends a somewhat apologetic look in his wife's direction as he decides to take control of the situation before both his daughter and his wife are crying.)

"Emily Anne McGarrett, stop that right this minute!"

(And she does; the only sound Sam and Steve can hear are the little "chuffling" noises Emily makes when she's trying to stop crying.)

"Daddy. . ma . mad . at . Em-a-lee."

"Daddy's not really made at you, Baby Girl, you just need to understand that you can't have your Mommy right this minute."

"Me love Mommy."

"And your Mommy loves you, too, Em, but Mommy's sick right now. Want Mommy to feel better?"

"Ye . . yes."

"Okay, then, be a good girl for Ganma. All this crying and yelling you're doing is only making Mommy feel bad."

"Kay. . . Mommy?"

"Yes, Baby?"

"Love you."

"I love you, too, Emily, forever and then some. Goodnight, Sweetheart. Mommy will call you tomorrow."

"Nighty night. Daddy?"

"Right here, Baby Girl. I'll talk to you tomorrow, too. Be good for Ganma and Ganpa. Love you. Libby?"

"Yes, Steve?"

"Seems like Emily's going to be a bit out of sorts tonight."

"She'll be fine, Steve. How are you feeling, Sam?"

"So far, so good, Mom."

"Have you tried to eat or drink anything, yet?"

"No, Ma'am, but I promise I'll try something a little later. Mom, If Emily . ."

"Emily will be fine, Sam. Now, you behave yourself and let Steve take care of you. Get some rest and we'll talk to both of you in the morning. Love you."

(As soon as the call is ended, Sam and Steve just look at one another for a moment. Realizing that she isn't the only one who's missing their daughter, Sam squeezes her husband's hand, gives him a kiss on the cheek, and lays her head on his shoulder while they both let the calming sight and sounds of the ocean wash over them both.

Mike looks around Allen Henderson's office and smiles in satisfaction. Between him, Caroline, Mrs. Tyson, and Senior Chief Evans, they have gotten through the budget meeting, re-arranged the flight exercises schedule, and Mrs. Tyson even straightened up Sam's office so it is, once again, neatly organized, and they have accomplished all this by 1700 hours. Thanking Mrs. Tyson and the Senior Chief and bidding them good night, Mike tells Caroling to go home, get out of her uniform, get her husband, and come to his and Libby's house for dinner citing the fact that they may need the Williams' assistance with Emily. An hour later, Caroline and Danny walk into her parents' den to find Adm. Michael Thrasher sitting on the floor with his arms crossed and a small frown on his face as his granddaughter sits across from him in an identical pose and with an identical expression on her beautiful, little face. Libby's soft laughter fills their ears as she leans on the long bar separating the kitchen from the den and watches her husband and granddaughter.)

"Well, Mike, what are you going to do now?"

"What's going on, Libby?"

"Emily is not happy about the fact that she isn't going to see her Mommy and Daddy tonight and, although Steve laid the law down to her when he and Sam talked to her earlier on the phone, she started begging her Ganpa to take her to Mommy and Daddy as soon as he walked in the door. Apparently, Adm. Thrasher has not yet transitioned into Ganpa, and he is having a meeting of the minds with Emily about her attitude."

"Hmmph. Looks more like a Mexican standoff to me."

(And Danny's glibly uttered statement earns him a glare from his father-in-law and both his wife and mother-in-law are trying to smother their giggles. Danny, not caring one bit that he may be entering "enemy territory", strolls over and casually drops down on one of the sofas so he can get a better view of this confrontation between Emily and Mike.)

"Want Mommy and Daddy."

"We've been over this, Emily. Your mother is sick, your father is taking care of her, neither of them want you to catch what she has, and you're staying with me and Ganma until your mother feels better."

"WANT! MOMMY! WANT! DADDY!"

"You, young lady, are about to be on report! Do not yell at me!"

(And even though Mike didn't raise his voice, his tone is stern and his frown has deepened. Emily is completely unfazed by her grandfather's posturing and she stands up on her sturdy little legs and walks closer to Mike until she is mere inches from him; one of Steve's trademark dark frowns on her little face. Placing both her little hands on either side of Mike's face, she speaks slowly and succinctly as if she believes him to be either deaf or thick-headed.)

"Me. Want. Mommy and Daddy!"

"Hey, Emily, how about you come over here and talk to Uncle Danny while Ganpa takes a little break?"

"Me want Mommy and Daddy, Unka Danny."

"Yeah, I know you do, Sweetheart but you're just going to have to make do with me and Aunt Caroline, and Ganma and Ganpa."

(And, miracle of miracles, Emily throws her little arms around Danny's neck, gives him a sloppy kiss on the cheek, and starts giggling. If possible, Mike's frown gets even darker. Throwing his hands up in disgust, Mike picks himself up off the floor and plops down on one of the bar stools while Libby and Caroline quickly busy themselves with dinner so that Mike won't see their smiles.

When Chin passes everything that has transpired during the day on to his wife, Lana looks at him with a bit of apprehension in her expression.)

"Um, does having this person from the Senator's office observe Five-O mean we won't be going to San Francisco?"

"Absolutely not. I've got leave time on the books, Steve told me to take it, and we are, most definitely, going to San Francisco for your birthday."

"Chin, if you need to stay here until things settle down, it's okay. We can celebrate my birthday here and go to San Francisco another time. I won't mind; really."

"I would, Lana. Personally, I think our guest will be with us just a few days and, when he or she figures out they're not going to find anything Sen. Mills can use to discredit us, they'll want to get back to their own office ASAP."

"You guys don't have any surprises planned for this person, do you?"

"Of course not. Just gets pretty boring around our office sometimes."

(Kono arrives home to find that Tony is already there and he and Eric are playing "Find the Tangos". After picking her son up and getting her welcome home hug and kiss, Kono also gets a very nice welcome home kiss from her husband, before she heads into the kitchen to see what Tony has started for dinner."

"Hey, you know what's going on with Sam?"

"You mean do I know that she tossed her cookies at the O Club, ended up in the E.R. at the base hospital, and that, until Adm. Henderson gets back from San Diego, Adm. Thrasher is acting base Commander? Yeah, it's all over the base along with the fact that almost all of our air group is either in the hospital or home on Sick Leave with some kind of really nasty virus."

"She was supposed to fly to Washington Sunday. Wonder if she's going to be well enough to go then?"

"Well, if she isn't, Adm. Thrasher will be the acting base Commander a while longer because Adm. Henderson will have to go to Washington. How's your budget thing going, K?"

"Turns out that's the least of our worries right now. This Mills woman asked the Governor to allow one of her Aides observe Five-O for a few days and the Governor's given it the green light. Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to having some bureaucrat hanging over my shoulder for God knows how long."

"Steve isn't giving this Aide full access, is he?"

"Of course not, but I have a feeling that this person is not going to behave and follow the guidelines Steve sent up to the Governor. I don't think they're just going to be observing but actually digging around trying to find something they can use against us."

"Which will give Steve the perfect opening to banish them. You guys have a decent password and security protocol system on your computers, don't you?"

"You know we do, Tony; good enough to network with the classified systems at the base."

"Okay, then, K., stop worrying. Hopefully, the most you guys are going to have to put up with this person is two or three days tops. You're not going to have to work later or go in earlier because Steve's home with Sam, are you?"

"Steve's working from home and we're all staying in touch by phone or video chat so, no, it's all good. Why are you grinning?"

"Twenty bucks says Sam is already working from home on her laptop even though she was in the E.R. earlier."

"Nope, not going to take that bet."

(Not only has Danny put Emily into a better mood, he has managed to get most of her dinner in her with a minimum of mess, and he's now playing hide and seek with her out on the back deck while Caroline watches them through one of the windows in Libby's and Mike's kitchen. Mike notices the expression on his daughter's face and walks over to stand next to her and slide an arm around her waist.)

"Danny is going to be so good with our baby when we have one."

"Yes, he is, Sweetheart, and you're going to be a wonderful mother."

"I hope so, Dad."

"You will be, Caroline; I've watched you with Emily and Eric and you're a natural."

"I've had some great examples to follow; Mom, Sam, Kono, Anne Murdock, and Mom and Sam, and Kono will be around to give me some pointers if I need them. And . . . I know you'll be here for me, too, Dad."

"Yes, I will, Caroline. You know, I immediately realized that the reason Emily responded so quickly and so well to Danny was because she hadn't seen him in a couple of days; even though I decided to have a little fun with him and make him think I was put out because he accomplished what I couldn't with Emily. He's a good man, Sweetheart, and he loves you very much. The two of you have been through some very difficult times but you've come through them with flying colors."

"Yes, we have. I don't think I could live if anything happened to Danny. He brings out the best in me."

"Sweetheart, you bring out the best in each other."