My thanks to Tanith2011 for beta reading this story. Happy New Year to everyone!
Making a Difference
"The boss wants to see you when you're finished," Jenny Sherman said while poking her head into Dan Williams' cubicle.
Danny nodded to acknowledge the secretary's message before continuing his telephone conversation. Jenny wondered what had happened – Danny's usual relaxed and cheerful expression had been replaced by what looked like disappointment. She kept her eye on him until he had completed the call, left his cubicle and entered the boss's private office.
"Good morning, Danno," Steve McGarrett greeted his second in command as he was pinning some new photographs to his evidence board. "I know that you've got a flight to catch on Friday, but I need you to follow up on a few leads on the Wilkins case." Then the dark haired detective noticed his officer's less than happy countenance. "Something wrong, Danno?"
"Looks like I no longer have a flight to catch," Danny explained. "Aunt Clara called me last night. It seems that her old acting troupe is getting back together for a revival of The Front Page. This tour is an opportunity for her to perform in several different states. At her age, it's an opportunity that won't come again."
"And you being you, told her to take the opportunity, enjoy herself and you'd make other plans," Steve concluded.
"Yeah," Danny said quietly.
"Can you get your money back on the flight?"
"Most of it, I think. I was just on the phone with my travel agent. She's going to do her best."
"I'd say your chances are good. Gail is pretty sweet on you, isn't she?" Steve teased.
Danny blushed. "Let's hope so. I can't afford to lose all that money."
"Look at it this way, Danno," Steve said, clapping the younger man on the shoulder. "You now have a two week vacation in Hawaii. Most people only get to dream about that!"
o-o-o
The first morning of Danny's vacation found him in his red and white board shorts on the beach at Waimea Bay, surfing wave after perfect wave. He was so focused on the intricacies of his favorite sport that he was completely unaware that he was being watched. Watched, and his surfing skills admired. Finally tired, Danny left the water to take a break. He lay down on his towel and closed his eyes to soak in some sun. But even with his eyes closed, he noticed when a shadow fell across his body, blocking out the sunlight. He opened his eyes and recognized an old friend, who was definitely not dressed for the beach.
"You're really good on that board, Danny!"
"Father K! What brings you to the beach?" Danny asked as he sat up on the towel.
"This," replied the priest, handing Danny one of the flyers he had been distributing to the teenaged crowd of surfers and sun bathers.
Danny scanned the information on the paper leaflet. "You're opening a new youth center. Too much free time on your hands, Father?"
The older man laughed. "I could ask you the same question. Did Five-O close up shop for the day?"
"No," Danny replied, purposely looking to the left then to the right. "Don't tell anyone, but I have two weeks off!" As soon as the words left his lips, Danny saw the priest's face light up. Uh-oh, he thought.
"Two weeks! That's a lot of vacation time," Father K replied. "Think I could talk you into using some of that time for the Lord's work?"
"I'm not the collar and beads type, you know that," Danny responded in all seriousness.
Father K smiled at his mental image of the man he knew to be so popular with the ladies clad in the trappings of a Catholic priest. "No, Danny, no collar, no beads. I'm just hoping you could volunteer a couple of hours a day in our center to get it off to a good start. We're providing a place for kids to hang out; you know, keep them off the streets and give them something useful to do. You could really make a difference."
"What would I do?"
"Maybe teach some kind of arts and crafts? I understand that you used to make jewelry."
"Who told you that?"
"I have my sources."
"But I haven't done that for years," Danny protested. Somehow he knew that he was fighting a losing battle.
"You'll be great, Danny. Think of it as a program for preventing juvenile delinquency. Look, how about if I treat you to lunch then I'll show you around the center? You can give me a list of materials that you'll need for jewelry making. I'll take care of everything else. You just show up on Monday morning at nine-thirty."
"Well…" Danny couldn't figure out how to say no. "Okay, Father, let's have lunch."
"Great! I'll owe you one."
o-o-o
Monday at nine-thirty, Danny, dressed casually in jeans and a polo shirt, entered what used to be a large parish hall. There were only four teenagers present; one young man was sweeping the floor, one girl was helping Father K put up posters and the other two girls were busy painting one of the walls an exceptionally bright lime green. On one table, he spotted a box that contained the equipment he had requested.
"Good morning, Danny," Father K called out, pushing the final thumbtack into the corner of a poster of a sunflower that declared 'war is not healthy for children or other living things'.
"Not too large a crowd today," Danny observed.
"Well, we're just getting started. Have a little faith, Danny. More will come once the word spreads that we are here." The priest rested his hand on the shoulder of the youngster who had been helping him. "I want you to meet Clara O'Brien. Clara, this is Danny. He's here to help out and to teach the art of jewelry making."
"Pleased to meet you," Danny said, smiling at the slight teen who was barely five feet tall. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a single braid and she wore a purple flowered shirt with her bell bottomed jeans. "I have an aunt named Clara, so I'll be sure to remember your name."
In another hour, more teenagers had wandered into the youth center. Danny found himself seated at a table with several girls, including Clara, demonstrating how to use a small gas torch to soften pieces of metal wire to bend them into pleasing shapes. When he turned off the torch and looked up from his work, the table was empty, save for Clara. "Hey, where did everybody go?" Danny asked.
"I think they were scared of the torch," Clara explained. "They thought we were just going to string beads or something like that."
Danny sighed then glanced across the room and saw that his former students were now helping Father K tie dye some t shirts. "And you're not afraid?"
"No," replied Clara. "It's just like the Bunsen burners in my chemistry class. If you're careful, it's not a problem."
"I guess that means that you get a private lesson," Danny said. In a way, he was relieved since it was going to be easier to work one-on-one. "So you like chemistry?"
"Yeah. I'm going to major in chemistry when I start college next year…" Clara's voice trailed off and Danny sensed that there was more that she wasn't saying.
"And what do you want to do with a degree in chemistry?" he asked, figuring that she wanted to teach high school.
"I want to be a scientist," Clara said emphatically. "But my parents don't think that girls can be scientists. They say that if I want a career, that I have three choices. I can be a teacher or a nurse or a secretary. That's it!" Her voice rose as she let out her frustration. Then in a calmer tone she continued, "That's why I'm here, Danny. It's a free thinking zone. Father K says that I can be whatever I want to be."
o-o-o
For the next several days, Danny spent his mornings at the youth center helping out with odd jobs: painting, cleaning, repairing furniture, whatever needed to be done. He also spent more time with Clara, helping her finish a necklace and matching earrings. He was impressed with the girl's skills with the fine tools, torch and soldering iron. Her small hands were as steady as a rock! Danny enjoyed listening to Clara talk about her dream of becoming a scientist and hoped that she wouldn't encounter too many barriers. He also knew that it was still very much a man's world. But one morning, he thought of something he could do.
o-o-o
That afternoon, as soon as he got home, Danny picked up the phone and dialed the crime lab. The call was answered on the first ring.
"Crime lab, Che Fong speaking," the forensic scientist issued his usual greeting.
"Hi Che, it's Dan."
"I thought you were on vacation. What's up?"
"I was wondering if you still have an internship available for the summer. I may have found someone who would be a good match: smart, hard-working, wants to major in chemistry."
"Yes, as a matter of fact, there's one more slot waiting to be filled. This candidate, can you bring him by the lab for an interview?"
"Sure…but it's her, not him. Che, she's a girl. Clara O'Brien."
The scientist chuckled. "Sorry, my mistake. Haven't you heard, Dan? Girls can do anything. At least that's what my daughter tells me."
"Yeah, I'm finding that out. I'll bring her by the lab tomorrow. Thanks."
o-o-o
At the end of his two weeks off, Danny returned to work to find that the Wilkins case was still in full swing. And by his boss's level of irritation, he could tell it was one of those frustrating investigations. They knew that Solomon Wilkins was guilty of fraud and embezzlement on a grand scale, but he had been very careful not to leave behind any incriminating evidence that could be used in court. To top it off, one of his employees had just been killed by a car bomb, and they very well knew that Wilkins had demolitions experience from the army.
From their white leather chairs, Danny, Chin and Kono watched McGarrett pace the length of his private office. The top cop was deep in thought, trying to dig up something, anything that they had missed.
"Boss, maybe da lab boys will find something we can use," Kono offered after a few minutes.
"Yeah, maybe," Steve responded skeptically. "But there wasn't much left of that car."
The four detectives almost jumped when the telephone on the big desk rang. After snatching up the receiver, Steve issued his standard clipped greeting, "McGarrett."
All eyes on their boss, Danny, Chin and Kono listened to Steve's side of the conversation and watched his expression change from frustration to triumph as he pumped his fist in the air. "Thanks, Che, and good work!" Steve hung up the phone and turned toward his team.
"Gentlemen, we've got him!" Steve announced. "Wilkins got a little overconfident and careless with that bomb and left a thumbprint behind."
"Che found a print in that mess?" an astonished Chin asked. "I saw what was left of the car. It looked like chop suey to me!"
Steve smirked at the ethnic comparison and proceeded to brief his men on the details from the lab. "Che found a small fragment of the bomb wedged…welded actually, between the dash and the engine housing," Steve explained. "They weren't able to extract it and Che's hands were too large to get at it. He was afraid that trying to cut into the wreckage with a saw would destroy the fragment. But it turns out that Che just hired a new intern…a girl who has very small hands. Following Che's instructions, this intern was able to maneuver her hands inside the piece far enough to pull the print. Not only that, she was able to get a partial serial number off the piece. We're going to put Wilkins away for a long time, gentlemen!"
o-o-o
Danny left his boss's office feeling mighty proud of the young lady whom he had met just a few weeks ago. Maybe he had made a difference for Clara. In any case, it was a great feeling. His musings were interrupted by Jenny's voice. "More coffee, Danny?"
"Sure, thanks," he said. He leaned against the doorway of his cubicle while he watched the petite secretary pour his coffee then stir in the cream the way he liked it.
When she handed him the cup, she noticed his lingering gaze as if he were lost in thought. "What is it?" she asked.
Danny thought for a few more seconds before he responded,"Jenny, did you always want to be a secretary?"
Pau
Father K appeared in the season 4 episode "Two Doves and Mr. Heron."
Danny's jewelry making experience was mentioned in the season 2 episode "Nightmare Road."