Right Place, Right Time

Danny waved goodbye to Grace as she took off towards the doors of her school. He pulled out of the parking lot and began to make his way to work. He decided to take the scenic route. He was early and he hadn't gone that way in a while. Why not? he thought to himself.

The dirt road wound its way around the base of a lush green mountain. The ocean met the Cliffside a few yards away from the street's edge. He had to admit that it was a bit more beautiful than the concrete jungle he was accustomed to. He rounded a corner onto a straightaway and recognized something farther down the road. Maybe it was road kill—a dead hog? Curious to see what was killed in such a low-traffic area, he sped up.

As he approached, he saw another object, one of metal, gleaming in the sun. It was an overturned bicycle, the front wheel still spinning. He looked at the lump in the road now and quickly put two and two together.

"Shit," he muttered, dialing his cell phone as he pushed the gas a little harder. An operator quickly responded.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"This is detective Williams with Five-0. I need an ambulance to my location. I'm about a mile down the 417." He paused for a moment, braking hard as he arrived close enough to what he saw: a girl, lying completely still on her side in the road, not far from a deformed, blue bike.

She couldn't have been much older than Gracie.

"Shit," he whispered. His urgency heightened.

"I have a young girl who's unconscious." Judging by the terrible condition of the bike and deep tread marks from a car in the dirt, he quickly added, "Send Five-0 and uniforms as well, looks like a hit and run."

He popped open the door, tossing the phone onto the seat as he raced over to the downed biker. He saw an arm begin to move and felt a small sense of relief. She was alive. He slowed as he approached, kneeling down at her side. Her eyes were now open and wandering, but she didn't seem to react to Danny's presence. The blood dripping down the side of her face tied a knot of concern in his stomach.

"Hey, can you hear me?" he called, tilting his head to put himself in her line of vision. Her eyes flicked over to look at him and her face tightened with fear.

"Please," she whimpered, her breathing becoming panicked as she tried to move away from the unknown man above her. He put a hand gently on her shoulder in an attempt to still her. She flinched and pulled her arms tightly into her chest. He withdrew his hand quickly and put his hands up in front of him in an attempt to calm her.

"Please, don't hurt me," she said, beginning to cry, "I'm s-sorry,"

Every dad-alarm and detective-alarm in Danny's body was going off. This girl was clearly afraid that someone would hurt her. She felt apologetic about something. Something was wrong here. His heart broke for her.

"Okay, you're okay, I'm not going to hurt you sweetheart," He said with a sorry look.

Her eyes opened and looked at him hesitantly.

"I promise. No one's going to hurt you, okay?" he said softly. She started to relax a bit, still eyeing him, not completely sure of whether to trust him. She stifled a cry as a pain shot up her leg. This wasn't lost on Danny. It pained him to see her so afraid and hurt.

"I'm a police officer," He said in response to her remaining uncertainty. He pulled the badge from his hip and showed it to her. "I can see you're hurt and want to be able to help you, alright?" he told her kindly holding her gaze and touching her hand lightly. This time she didn't pull away and only glanced down at the contact.

"My mom said that p-police officers protect us," She stated with a sniffle and a nod.

"Your mom is right. That's exactly what I'm here for," He said with a small smile.

She bit her lip and allowed one cheek to lift into smile.

"What's your name sweetheart?" Danny asked. She swallowed heavily before responding.

"Lilah,"

"Hi Lilah, my name's Danny. Can you tell me what's hurting?"

"Um, m-my leg really hurts and I… I feel d-dizzy," She said, her voice shaking, pitch rising.

"It's okay Lilah, help is on the way. You just stay nice and still, alright?" Danny reassured.

She responded with a tiny nod.

He gently pushed her hair from her face and softly tucked it behind her ear.

"It's okay," Danny repeated.