No copyright infringement intended. Hawaii Five-0, it's characters and it's premise , are the property of CBS. This is a fan produced story, written solely for the enjoyment of other fans.
AN - This one-shot was written shortly after the pilot episode aired. The idea came to me after Danno expressed his distaste of the beach, and after seeing his relationship with his daughter. In other words, I wrote this before the Kono/Danno surf scene in episode 1:15 - Kai e'e.
A Father's Sacrifice
This was a bad idea, he thought, paddling further out into the surf. A really bad idea.
He hated the beach, didn't he?_ He did. He hated it.
He hated the sand, that got into the nooks and crannies, the blistering sun, that made it necessary for him to coat his nose in day-glo yellow sunblock. And don't get me started on beach people. All those adults, lazing around and irradiating themselves under the premise that they're "relaxing"; though how they can call it relaxing when they're surrounded by hordes of kids, all mainlining on the negative ions in the air; screaming and shouting, and running amok; kicking up more of that godforsaken sand, that would no doubt end up taking days to remove from the bottom of the shower stall.
Then there was the sea itself.
He was no hydrophobic. He could swim; was a very good swimmer actually. He'd happily do length after length in the clean, carefully monitored, pool of a hotel, or even the Memorial Pool back in New Jersey, but the sea, it had questionable things in it, and it had waves. Waves that knocked you off your feet, that pulled you under, then coughed you up again, just so they could start the whole freaking process again. Waves that came thundering at you, stock full of more of that skin chaffing sand.
So what the hell had he been thinking?
Grace. That's what he'd been thinking. She was the reason he was here. Stan may have won with Mr. Hoppy, but he was going to head him off at the pass with this one. He was Grace's dad, not Stan, and he wanted to be the one to take his daughter surfing. Not that she'd actually mentioned wanting to surf yet, but it was only a matter of time.
Which is why he'd swallowed his distaste of the beach; with it's sand, and it's melanoma inducing sun, donned a pair of ridiculous, colourful board shorts, and put himself through the indignity of having Kono give him the idiots guide to surfing?
"This," She'd pointed to the smaller of two boards laying on the sand. "is your board." Apparently, it was something called a mini-mal, and she'd borrowed it from a ten year old neighbour who'd outgrown it. He'd bit his tongue there, and reminded himself that she was doing him a favour.
According to, Surf Sensai Kono, the mini-mal was ideal for him to use, because "the soft foam top would prevent injury when he fell off". Which of course, as a totally inept beginner, he'd be doing a lot of.
"This, is your leash. You attach it to the board and your ankle." Well duh, I've seen Point Break, he'd thought. Not only that, he'd hung around the shores enough growing up to at least know what a leash was. Hey, he'd said he didn't like the beach, he'd never said anything about not liking hot ladies in bikinis. Now them, he liked.
After spending over half an hour practicing the all important,"pop-up"; which involved laying on the board on his stomach, then jumping up, over and over again, his calf muscles ached and Kono informed him he was, "goofy-footed". This, to his relief, was not a reference to his large feet, but simply meant that he naturally put his right foot forward on the board.
She'd then gone into a long explanation about waves, and surf stance. Mentioned something about his stance on the board determining whether he was surfing front side or backside into the waves. He probably should have listened closer, but he'd zoned out a little, and started wondering how the knots in her bikini top withstood the constant battering of the waves while surfing.
She'd brought him out of his reverie with a stinging sharp smack on his shoulder, and a smiling, "Let's surf, Haole boy."
Now here he was, paddling out into the ocean behind her; and doing a pretty damn good job of it too.
Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all, he thought, just as he swallowed a mouth full of salt water when a large wave caused the nose of the board to rise and then dip violently. Gripping the edge of his board tightly, he coughed and shook his head to try and clear the wet hair that was now obscuring his vision.
"Don't stop, Danny. Paddle faster if you want to catch the wave." Kono called out from up ahead.
Catch the wave? Exactly which wave was she talking about? There seemed to be plenty to choose from. What did he need to catch one for anyway? It's not as if they were running away from him. His arms were starting to tire. Couldn't he just wait here for the bloody wave to get to him?
He managed to make his way through the breaking surf to where she sat astride her board.
"Not bad." She smiled down at him.
Just as he was about to pull himself into a sitting position on his own board, she said, "Here it comes, Danny. Here's your wave. Ready yourself."
Panicking a little, he grabbed the rim firmly, and took a deep breath. He could do this. How hard could it be? Just then, the water began to swell up beneath him, and he heard her shout, "Now!". He brought his legs up under him, placed his feet firmly on the waxed surface of his board, pushed himself into a standing position, and proceeded to shout several obscenities as the momentum forced the board to torpedo out from beneath him, and he went cartwheeling backwards into the water.
Bad idea! Bad idea! Really, really bad idea!
Tumbled by the surf, his body contorted this way and that, until he couldn't tell which was up and which was down. Something slimy brushed across his face and he jerked and flailed his arms about. Suddenly, a tug at his ankle reminded him that the leash was still attached to the board. Looking up, he peered through the silt heavy water and found it above him. Kicking franticly with his feet, he propelled himself to the surface. Just as his lungs were about to burst, and he thought he wasn't going to make it, a hand appeared, wrapped itself around his wrist, and tugged.
Coughing and spluttering, he made a grab for the board, and with Kono's help, pulled himself up till he was draped across it.
"First wipe out's always the worst." Still catching his breath, he managed to lift his head to give her a look. "Ah, come on, Danny," she laughed. "Don't give up. Trust me, it gets easier."
The waves had carried them closer to the shore. Danny allowed himself to slip off the board, grimacing when he felt his feet sink into the wet sand.
"Why don't you take a moment, catch your breth, then we'll give it another go." Kono slid down till she was in the paddling position, and started to make her way back out to sea.
Still a little shaken, Danny wasn't going to argue, so he hefted the board under his arm and made his way back to the beach.
Standing at the water's edge, watching Kono make it all look so simple, he became aware of someone approaching behind him. Turning, he screwed his eyes up against the glare of the sun and let out a long groan as the jogger got closer.
"Nice baggies." Steve grinned at him. "Very...tropical."
Danny ignored him, and went back to watching Kono.
"Really, they look good, Brah." Steve joined him in admiring Kono's surfing skills. "I thought you didn't like the beach?"
"I don't." He turned to look at Steve. "Kono's giving me a surfing lesson."
Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise. "She is?"
Danny eyed him suspiciously. "Yeah."
"Wow, that's great." Steve said. "Really, that's great. So, how's it going?"
"Good." Danny nodded. "It's early days, you know, but, yeah, it's going good."
"Great." Steve nodded in return. "That's great. Well, better finish my run." He slapped Danny on the shoulder, then turned to go back up the beach. A few steps away, he stopped, and looked back. "Hey, Danno, a bit of advice, it helps your balance, if you bend your knees and arch your back a little more on the pop-up." Danny glared at him. "Hey," Steve put his hands up as he jogged backwards. "Just trying to help." He grinned.
The End.