A/N: This started out as a little different than where it is now, but I really like it and I hope you do too :) Please read and review, and does anyone have any DMV horror stores of their own? lol. Happy reading!
"Don't you think this is a little much, Danny? Even for you?" Steve asked as he sat, very unimpressed in the hard,
uncomfortable chairs that lined three of the very bland, clinical feeling walls they were surrounded by.
"No, not at all." The man in question very affirmatively replied. "In fact, I'm not sure it's even enough, if I'm honest,
actually." Danny's finger was in the air in full force providing Steve the courtesy warning of an incoming rant. He rolled his
eyes, turning to the person in the chair to his left who looked equally as bored.
"Because, Steven," the passionate detective continued as they heard the number nineteen being called from the counter
on the other side of the room. "I am wondering who will be watching what you're doing? I mean, someone clearly needs
to, or else we wouldn't both be sitting here right?"
"Danno..." Grace sighed from her seat after reciprocating her uncle's expression. The contempt in her voice was coming in
loud and clear just as Steve's had. She wasn't exactly thrilled about spending her Friday morning at the DMV in general, so
she was even more keen on avoiding the unwanted attention from other people.
"No, no." Danny abruptly stopped the rant and leaned forward to face his daughter. "Do not Danno me, Monkey. This is
happening, okay?" Although he couldn't deny how cute she sounded, which softened the blow considerably. "You and
Uncle Steve are going to take this lesson together, and that's that." As he leaned back in his chair, Danny caught an all
too familiar glint in his partner's eye. "Don't even think about it." He warned, knowing an echo of his daughter's words
were what was coming. And this time there was nothing cute about it. "Besides," Danny continued, unrelenting about
getting to his point. "If you think about it, you got off lucky, pal."
"Lucky?" Steve's eyes bulged slightly as the surprise came in his voice. "How could spending a Friday morning sitting at
the DMV be considered lucky, Danny?"
"Well for starters," he spoke quickly, completely oblivious to poor Grace and the half a dozen or so pairs of eyes staring at
the three of them. "You charmed your first tester into letting you off with a one-hour refresher, when originally she
wanted to suspend your license indefinitely, so-"
"Commander McGarrett, Miss Williams. " A unknown voice stated, rather than asked. Danny was acutely cut off by the
DMV employee who'd approached them unbeknownst to him.
"Yes, that's us." Steve smiled, equally grateful that their turn had finally come and that it meant Danny would stop ranting.
"Come with me please." He turned and headed back for the counter slowly, clearly going on the assumption they were
following him.
Grace didn't miss a beat as she fell in step behind him without passing even a glance at the two men still seated.
"Bye, Danno." They barely could make out as she continued to put more space between them.
"What..." Her father stammered while standing up, not having any words ready for a change.
While Steve imagined it was hard for his friend to see his daughter run off so easily like that, he couldn't help but enjoy it
just a little. "I better get in there too." He made little effort to cover his smirk as he stood up. "See you in an hour." He
tossed an attempt at a reassuring smile over his shoulder as he walked to catch up with Grace and the instructor just
before they disappeared down a hall hidden from view from the waiting room. "Bring my daughter back in one piece
please!" He shouted, feeling pretty confident not only Steve, but everyone in the DMV heard him. He couldn't be too
careful, after all. After a heavy sigh, Danny reached for the table in front of him for a magazine to pass the waiting time.
Feeling like he was being watched, he looked up at the people sitting directly across from him. "New driver in your family
too?" He smiled politely, asking the couple and nodding to the young man beside them. Not understanding the blank,
possibly even confused expression on their faces, he changed his attention to the boy himself. He looked to be about
Grace's age, so it was a safe assumption he figured. "You excited to start driving, buddy?" Danny asked, hoping this
conversation would get less awkward at some point soon. Still trying to read the kid's face, Danny took another stab at it.
"Are you nervous? You look a little uh, squirmy." He noticed a few more eyes and idly wondered what was so exciting that
they all felt the need to watch him make small talk. Danny's smile flashed as he continued. "You'll be fine, I'm sure of it."
He nodded towards the parents. "Just so long as you never meet that guy on the road, that is." He motioned in the
direction where Steve and Grace had gone. When not even his joke could ease the awkwardness, Danny opted for leaning
back and pulling out his phone instead.
Meanwhile down that hall lead featured another small waiting room, only this one featured just one desk and a few chairs. It was the room where you wait to meet the tester and get in the car, Steve remembered. It hadn't been that long since he'd done this, he silently thought to himself, balking Danny's words from his first attempt a few weeks previous. He took a look at Grace and noticed how fidgety she'd become.
"Hey, you okay Gracie?" He asked, remembering with a little pang how little he got to drive with his dad before being sent away.
"Hmm?" She asked a few seconds later.
Steve chose his next words carefully after doing his best to read her face fully. "Are you okay? You know, if you don't want to do this, sweetheart, we can come back." He put a reassuring hand on her back as he spoke.
"Oh, no." The newly turned sixteen-year-old shook her head less than convincingly, even if Steve didn't already know how she really felt. "I'm fine." She looked up at him for the first time since they walked into the second waiting area. "Just a little nervous, I guess." She added, knotting her fingers between each other in her lap.
Steve placed his other hand on his side, confirming the suspicion that his phone was vibrating, and had been every ten seconds or so since they'd sat down. "Well, I don't mean to scare you Gracie, but you know being calm while driving is really important, right. So, if you're not sure you're ready it's not too late to reschedule your appointment." He cautioned as he used both hands to retrieve his phone.
"I know, but my friend Laura got hers three months ago and she said she wasn't even scared. Now she can drive herself to the mall whenever she wants." Grace added, a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"Well, if you're sure." Steve agreed, although he knew by her face that she was anything but. He had confidence in Danny though, so he knew seeing the plan through was the best course of action. Looking at his phone, Steve smirked at the abundance of messages.
Don't make me regret this.
What am I saying. I already do.
I mean what I said about one piece.
Is she nervous?
What am I saying. Of course she's nervous.
Seriously, Steve. That's my baby. Be careful.
"Yeah, I want to do this." She nodded, as Steve quickly read his messages.
He had just repocketed his phone and gave her one last reassuring smile when the door opened revealing the moment of truth. "Alright, Miss Williams. Let's get you on the road." The instructor smiled genuinely as she glanced from her clipboard to the two of them. "And I did read that right." She nodded, clearly pleased with herself about something. As she smiled and adjusted her glasses, the lines of her well experienced face creased. "It's not every day I get to test the driving skills of a highly decorated naval officer." She readjusted her glasses again even though they hadn't moved. Steve watched her for a second as she nervously scribbled something down on the board she carried. He did his best to hide the amusement he got from the instructor recognizing him as a member of their law enforcement, and from the knowledge that charming this one like he did the last one would be a cake walk. Only this time, he'd learned his lesson. Charm her while in the car; instead of waiting until after and doing damage control.
"So, who wants to start?" She spoke again, not making eye contact with either of them.
Steve didn't waste anytime. "Gracie, you want to go first? Get it out of the way?" he offered, hoping she'd agree with his logic.
His hopes were dashed quickly as she shook her head in response. "No, I'd rather go second." She explained with a hint of trepidation in her tone.
"Okay," the woman Steve pegged to be in her mid fifties nodded quickly. "Out we go then." She moved past them swiftly and stepped through the sliding glass doors that lead to the parking area reserved for testing.
After letting Grace get in on his side, Steve slid into the seat he'd come to know very well over the last six years. As he finished clicking in his belt, he caught his instructor very spiritedly writing something down.
"Um, is everything okay, uh," Steve strained to see her name tag even though a part of it was covered by her seatbelt. "..Helen?" he more guessed than read. "You wrote something down, already? You know, Helen, we just met." He flashed his best witty grin.
Immediately her eyes shot up to meet his and it threw Steve for a loop just as quickly. "Three things, Commander. Three infractions so far, and if I see you take your eyes from the front of the vehicle again, I will make it a fourth." Her voice was cold, stern, and almost mean, thought Steve.
"C'mon," he chuckled. "I'm not even in drive yet, you have to give me time to get in and uh, uh, look at my passengers to check that they're buckled in safely before I do that, right?" He laughed again, realizing it sounded way more nervous than he wanted it to.
"Yes, checking. That was infractions one and two, Commander. You did not perform a full circle vehicle check before allowing your passengers and yourself to enter the vehicle. And I will be checking for a post check as well, so you'd be smart to remember that." She continued, almost to Steve's disbelief all the while writing furiously on the board.
"Uh, um, yeah. I will." Steve nodded sharply while noticing the very quiet but very distinct giggle coming from the back seat. "Remember you're next back there," he playfully warned her without taking his eyes from the windshield as he placed his foot on the brake and engaged the gear shift.
Helen very dramatically clicked her tongue and began writing some more while shaking her head.
"What? What now?" Steve asked, slightly annoyed. He was waiting for another vehicle to pass their spot before beginning to pull out anyway.
"Four and Five." She tsked again and left it at that as she needed to flip to a fresh piece of paper on her board. "At this rate, we won't even be leaving the parking lot before I fail you." She added with serious condescension.
"Oh, come on," he pleaded, hardly believing what was happening. "It's not against the law to talk to your passengers, Helen. I mean, you can't dock me for that, seriously?" Definitely mean, he now knew for sure.
"Allowing yourself to be distracted by a passenger, is what I am docking you for." She explained curtly. "And especially in your current line of work, Commander McGarrett. It could endanger your life, the life of your partner, and the lives of everyone else on the road if you were transporting a suspect and they began taunting you."
Steve couldn't help but bang his left hand on the steering wheel a little. He certainly didn't remember getting the third degree from DMV instructors in the past, but maybe that meant it had been a little too long since he'd gone for his last test. In this case, he knew Danny was one hundred percent right in this assessment about Grace. If this woman could rattle him like this before they even left their parking spot, he shuddered to think what she could do to all the new drivers just starting out.
"… And I am under no obligation to explain the criteria set by the government for assessing a student's driving skill, Commander McGarrett. And at this rate, I won't have to as you're doing just fine defining what is not acceptable criteria on your own." She continued to write, not even glancing up at the man she'd so successfully rattled behind the wheel. He realized she'd been speaking the whole time he'd been thinking about how this was not going the way he expected it to. And somehow, he knew he was going to have to explain that to Danny too. That made him dig deep, and in turn realize he had to man up and get through this test like he did back in the SEAL days.
"Yes ma'am." Steve spoke assertively as he slowly took his foot off the brake and began what was clearly going to be the driving test from hell.
Though he was proved mostly wrong about the rest of the test, Steve was nothing less than ecstatic to climb out of the car back at the DMV fifty minutes later. With a silent reminder from his niece, Steve reflected on the rest of drive as he humoured Helen with a post circle check. Although he'd seen her write a few more things down, all things considered it was pretty uneventful. Steve was pretty confident he hadn't broken any laws, and was almost as confident that if it were to come to that, the governor would side with him when faced with the idea that the head of his special task force couldn't legally drive.
"We will be in touch with your results, Commander McGarrett." Helen spoke to him one last time as she exited the passenger side. "Miss Williams," she turned her attention to the very still teenager in the backseat on a dime. "If you would like to come with me, we can begin the short presentation before you meet your instructor."
Grace swallowed hard, searching for her uncle's supportive glance once more. "Um, okay. I. uh, I'll be right there." She couldn't bring herself to look at the woman who'd just spent the last hour making her feel like taking the bus everywhere. She couldn't see Steve's face from where she was sitting in the car so her eyes darted around the backseat uncomfortably.
After hellish Helen nodded before heading back toward the building, Steve leaned in to move the seat for Grace. "You okay?" he asked, although one look at her face gave him all the answer he needed.
In one fell swoop she climbed out and wrapped her arms around him. "That lady was scary. I don't want her teaching me how to drive, Uncle Steve." She squeezed him even tighter, feeling like she didn't want anyone teaching her to drive anytime soon.
"Well, Gracie, I don't think she will be your instructor." He explained, reciprocating her affections all the while spotting her father step out of the DMV's main entrance fifty or so feet behind her.
"I don't want anyone to teach me. I'll take the bus." She rationalized, and finally loosened her grip from around Steve's waist.
With the slight worry that the plan had worked too well, Steve did his best to reign her back in before walking back up to where Danny stood. "Well I mean, you want to drive eventually, right?" he tried to use a light, happy tone as he spoke. "Somebody's gotta annoy Danno by driving his car when I'm not around, right?" he added, seeing that beautiful smile creep up on her face again. She laughed, signalling to Steve that all was not lost. "C'mon, he's waiting over there, probably dying to know how it went. You can tell him about Helen, after we go in and reschedule your session, kay?"
Grace smiled even larger and wrapper herself around him once again. "Thanks Uncle Steve." She heaved a large sigh of relief into his chest as he rested his chin on her head and then kissed the top of it. "Anytime, kid. Anytime." He chuckled to himself as they parted and headed to where Danny stood, thinking about exactly what he had to go through for this. No question though, he knew he would do it anytime if someone he loved that much asked.
"Well? How was it?" Danny asked, feeling a little taken aback as his teenage daughter hugged him tightly without a word.
"Dad?" Grace's softly muffled voice asked as they stood in place just outside of the DMV building.
"Mm." he replied with a swift kiss to the side of her head and a glance to his besmirched partner standing behind his daughter with his hands resting casually at his hips. He figured the plan had gone well given both their reactions, but he'd never pass up an opportunity to show his daughter affection nonetheless.
"Is it okay if you still drive me places for a little while? I don't really care if Laura already has hers and can drive to the mall by herself." She finished her sentence with the tiniest of sniffles as their hug ended and she stepped back.
Danny took a second to answer, doing his absolute best to keep his game face on. "Of course, Monkey." He reached forward and moved a strand of hair from her face. "But are you sure? You said yourself it's the uh, what was it?" he paused to recall her words, thought it was no secret it was purely for dramatic effect. "Oh, yeah. The most embarrassing thing ever, being sixteen and still needing a ride to the mall." He did his best teenage girl act, which earned him an accolade worth more than any fancy award.
"Danno.." Grace rolled her eyes but the amusement that filled her smile quickly took over her whole face as she crossed her arms.
Unable to resist the swarm of love her smile gave him, Danny wrapped her in a one arm hug and kissed her temple again with a chuckle. "Seriously though, you know I don't mind. "Danno's car service is always just a phone call or text away, alright?"
She nodded with a smile and rested her head on his shoulders for a second before letting out one last very relieved sigh. "Can we go get some lunch before I go back to school? There'll only be ten minutes left of class before lunch if I go back now anyway."
"Sure." He replied simply and quickly. "Why don't you go get in the car and figure out where you want to go? We'll be there in a minute." He released her from around his arm as she happily agreed and headed in the direction of her father's car.
You know buddy, I gotta hand it to you." Steve sighed contentedly once they had re-entered the building. "At first I thought you were just being overprotective as usual, but after that." He shook his head. "What can I say? You know your daughter."
"Thank you." Danny acknowledged the words genuinely. "It wasn't easy because I know how much she thinks she wants to learn. But, her mom and I agreed she wasn't really ready for the responsibility yet. I'm going to give it a couple months and then start easing her into it, y'know? Empty parking lots and stuff."
Steve nodded silently, going back once again to memories of doing exactly that with his father as Danny took care of the matter of Grace's cancelled appointment. "Plus," he cleared his throat as they walked back outside. "It means you get to hold onto another small piece of her childhood that much longer, right?" He smiled, nudging his partner.
"Yeah. That too." Danny answered immediately, with a small chuckle. He didn't waste time on protesting the accusation of his overprotectiveness anymore. He knew Steve saw through it, and more so, he didn't care. It was his instinct and he planned to stick with it. And today's activity had only proved that right. "So," he took a deep breath. "Lunch then? I'm starving. You?" he posed the question out of practicality and as a bonus way to change the subject.
"Yeah, definitely." Steve agreed. "And hey, that's convenient." He spoke with a light hearted tone, sensing his partner wanted to move away from the mushy topics. "You can pay for lunch as my thank you for helping you execute this plan. And, you're welcome, by the way." He grinned almost on the goofy side as they watched Grace climb into the backseat of the car.
"Yeah, thanks." Danny agreed. "Nice performance, that was. I mean, I don't know if it would win the Oscar or anything, but you know, it was solid." He shrugged, feeling much more at ease now that his plan to show Grace she wasn't ready to get her license had gone off without a hitch.
Steve let out an amused huff as they got closer to the car themselves. "Well, you know what they say. An actor's only as good as the script he's given, right?"
"That's true," Danny giggled as they got closer to the Camaro. "But you know, they also say a leading man is only as strong as his supporting cast so I think Helen should get an honourable mention, don't you?"
The words stopped Steve in his tracks as he crossed behind the trunk towards the driver's side. "What?" he asked, the confusion written all over his face. "How did you…" he didn't bother finishing the question, as the answer came to him a second later. And the sheer satisfaction plastered on his partner's face only confirmed it. "You! You arranged for that, that, whatever that was?" he asked, slightly exasperated.
"She was tough on you, then? Good." Danny smiled, clearly enjoying this.
"No, Danny. She wasn't just tough, she was ridiculous! She was on the second page of her notes before I even pulled out of the spot, and went on and on about, circle checks and, and, being distracted by passengers." He stopped, hearing himself say that out loud. "Although on second thought, she may have been on to something there." He quipped, though it did nothing to slow his partner's growing smile.
" I went through all that because, wait." He stopped, trying very hard to organize the thoughts before they came out of his mouth. "So, you planned that then?" Steve asked, clear annoyance in his voice.
"No, not at all." Danny shook his head while doing nothing to stop the laughter from escaping. "Well, I did in this sense that I called in a favour and asked that Helen be the one to take you two out." He recalled, proudly. "But, I did not expect her to be the one to scare Grace into waiting a while longer." He laughed some more, almost as if hearing it out loud made him realize just how funny it was. "So the bonus was that I didn't need you to do that, I guess."
"No, Helen was more than enough, apparently." Steve huffed, still unable to believe this new revelation.
"Hard Core Helen, HPD calls her." Danny giggled more as he reached the passenger side door. "She's in charge of all their re-certs. Been doing it for thirty years, so not much gets past her." He happily explained the truly secret aspect of his master plan.
"Including highly decorated naval officers." Steve mumbled sheepishly to himself as he put his belt on and tossed a glance towards Grace in the back seat to make sure she was buckled.
"Grace, you good?" He asked through the mirror.
"Yep. I'm picking a place to eat now." She answered without looking up from her phone.
Her father noticed that too, and it made him feel even more confident that he'd made the right choice with this little excursion. "Now, hands at ten and two please." His best mockingly stern tone filled the air as he too fastened his seat belt and turned back to his partner. "And we both know I was always paying for lunch, Steve. So this, this right here," he motioned at the air between them referencing the big reveal. "This was my thank you." He made sure the SEAL took note of his giant grin before he could pull out of the parking spot with a huff and a thinly veiled grin.