Burn

By

Landon Richardson

Disclaimer

The characters of Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Adam 'Toast' Charles and Governor Jameson and anyone else who might sound familiar do not belong to me in any shape or form, I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes

The character of Danni Williams is probably mine by now. Even though she was originally based on male Danny Williams I think it's probably safe to say that's she her own individual character by now, especially since I've created a back ground for her which is different to male Danny's background in the show. This also affects Grace who is different from the show as well in ways.

The character of Special Agent Jack O'Connor definitely belongs to me though!

I should also add that if a character is mentioned who you are not instantly aware of then that character belong to me as well

Author Note

Hey, welcome to the next chapter of 'Burn'

I'm assuming that this story will be around about eighteen-twenty two chapters long. There's quite a lot to get through and it, unlike 'family' won't be based on just one day, the case will probably be spread out over two to three days though I'm not sure yet.

You'll start learning a bit about the characters, including the ones you already know, throughout this story, hints about their backgrounds, about their families, about what they do in their free time. All that sort of thing. I think it's important to show that, obviously in the show they don't have time to do that which is understandable since they have a limited amount of time to work with but luckily I don't have that same constraint on me so we can explore them! I think it's important to show that other side of all the characters. That's not to say that I'll bombard you with information because I won't. They'll be mentioned when relevant. You're more likely to hear about Chin and Kono's family than Danni's family for example simply because they are around more, since they are on the island while Danni's family is in New Jersey.

I have put two one shot up now entitled 'Looking up' and 'Thank you' which should be read before Burn as it fits in after 'family'.

Just a reminder as well that this is a slow burn saga over several chapter stories and one shots. The end game is and always has been McDanni, anyone who knows me or speaks to me is probably well aware of that. The only question I can't answer is how long it will take because I don't know. I know there are going to be several moments between them, probably moments in this story as well but as to when they hook up… well I've got an idea but we'll see. The characters tend to write themselves and often take me in directions I was prepared to go to

Plenty of friendship moments between the characters as well as well as the slow beginnings of the Ohana coming together.

So there's nothing really more to say except that I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Overall Summary

Fire, fire burning bright, which member of 50 will you try to claim tonight… when 50 are tasked with hunting down an arsonist who has graduated to murder they didn't expect themselves or those they hold dear to become targets. Now it's a race against time to find the murderer before it's too late (Part four of the Danni saga)

Chapter Summary

Danni Williams glanced around her living room, checking to see that she had everything she needed for the day ahead before she turned and headed down the hallway towards the front door where her seven year old daughter Grace was waiting for her, moving anxiously from foot to foot, her hand gripping her rucksack tightly.

Overall Romance

I'm hoping for some Steve McGarrett/Danni Williams romance… I'm already detecting some attraction between the two of them so let's hope for the best!

Chapter Romance

That's always going to be up to you the reader. I'm not going to tell anyone who to ship or root for though it be interesting to know who exactly you are rooting for in the story. I know what I want the end game to be but how and when we get to that point, and what happens before that point is beyond me. I like letting my characters write themselves and seeing where they take me, this unfortunately also includes the Romantic side


Chapter One

Early morning chats


30th September 2010

Danni Williams and Grace Taylor's home

3232 Paty Drive

Honolulu

Oahu


Danni William's point of view


Danni Williams glanced around her living room, checking to see that she had everything she needed for the day ahead before she turned and headed down the hallway towards the front door where her seven year old daughter Grace was waiting for her, moving anxiously from foot to foot, her hand gripping her rucksack tightly.

"You know Gracie, we do have time to spare if you need to use the bathroom" She teased her daughter softly as she came to a stop beside her, reaching out and running a hand fondly down Grace's long straight dark hair, making sure not to disturb her plaits in anyway. Grace was going through a very particular stage in her life where her hair had to be just right or she would make Danni redo it for her until she was satisfied that it was done to her high standards. Neither of them had time for that at that one moment in time.

"I've already been to the toilet Mamma" Grace replied causing Danni to smile down at her quickly before she stepped forward, pulling the cover to the alarm system down, She glanced back at Grace, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well in that case I'll take it that you're ready to head out" She remarked, nodding her head towards the bag. "Are you sure that you have everything which you need to have for the school and the breakfast club?" Danni asked, her tone turning serious as she met Grace's dark eyes. "Because I'm not going to be able to bring anything to you at school if you've forgotten it."

Grace shook her head at her.

"I've got everything I need Mamma, I even double checked this morning because Ms Clarke gave Anna a detention last week. All she did was forget her science textbook on Friday." Grace said, looking briefly horrified at the thought of getting a detention and marring her perfect record.

"Poor Anna she won't make that mistake again." Danni remarked mildly. "Still as long as you keep double checking then you shouldn't end up having that problem." She told her daughter who nodded at her, a determined look on the young girl's face which made Danni smile at her. "Go to the car baby and wait for me by the passenger side while I deal with the alarm and lock up" She said, reaching over Grace's head and opening the front door ushering her out. Danni watched as Grace skipped out the house, down the garden path before veering to the side where the car was parked in the drive way before she turned her attention to the alarm pad, punching in their code and closing it before she grabbed her own bag, slipped her heels on and left the house, locking it behind her.

Danni made her way down the path, tilting her head back and stared up at the sky, shaking her head when she was met with a bright blue sky with not a cloud in sight, it was the same sight which she was met with every day and one which she was getting more and more used to.

Danni stopped by the driver side and unlocked the car, pulling the door open and climbed in, pulling the seatbelt on, her gaze landing on the clock in the dashboard which told her that she had plenty of time still. Danni dropped her bag in the passenger foot well, waiting until Grace was comfortable in her seat with her own seatbelt on before she reversed the car out of their driveway and began driving the familiar route to her daughter's school. She put on Grace's favourite CD to distract her while she began thinking about her own upcoming day and what she had to do.

So far they had no new cases and she was determined to try and make the most of that break. She was due to meet Amelia Webster, the head DA on the island and she would want to know everything there was to know about the Doran case and the Sang Ming case right down to the smallest detail which meant that Danni would need to reread through everyone's reports for the two cases. Reports from her team mates, the medical examiners notes, the reports from CSU, the whole thing would take her entire morning and probably most of her afternoon as well to complete and that was all before she turned her attention to wrapping up the case which they had just completed. Reports still needed to be written and gathered together. Charges needed to written up against Zankovic who they still needed to interview before passing him off to Interpol.

All in all it was going to be a busy day for her.

Danni sighed, glancing to the side of her with a questioning look when she felt Grace place her hand on her forearm, the warmth coming through the sleeve of her black cardigan.

"What's up baby?" She asked, bringing her attention away from her thoughts and focusing instead on the small girl sitting beside her.

"Nothing Mamma, you're the one who was sighing out loud not me, is everything okay?" Grace asked her, tilting her head to the side and fixing her with a concerned look which warmed Danni's heart.

"Is everything okay?" Danni repeated with a surprised smile. "Yeah everything is fine Gracie bean, I was just thinking about all the work which I have to do today. It's going to be a busy day." Grace nodded at her, her expression morphing into one of understanding as she patted Danni's arm, ignoring the amused look Danni shot at her.

"I know exactly what you mean Mamma, we've got two tests today at school and we have to get at least seventy prevent in them to pass them otherwise we'll have to retake them after school. I think I'm going to do okay in the English one because Ms Clarke says it's one of my best subject but I'm worried about the one for geography, I'm not good at geography Mamma, I find it really hard." Grace confessed with a sigh before she took her hand away from Danni's forearm and lifted it to her mouth instead, nibbling at the skin the side of her thumbnail.

"You have nothing to be concerned about Grace so try not to worry too much about the test okay" she said, reaching out and running her hand down Grace's hair again to comfort her, smiling when Grace automatically tilted her head into the touch with a happy sigh. "Did you study for the tests?" She asked, taking her hand away and hitting the indicator, raising her hand in thanks to the driver who let her through.

"I've been studying for them for the past two nights" Grace told her, fixing her eyes on Danni's face.

"And do you remember the basics on what you studied?" Danni pressed softly.

"I can remember it Mamma, I made bullet points like you taught me to do." Grace told her, lowering her thumb down from her mouth.

"Well in that case, you're as prepared as you can be Gracie, you can't do any more than what you've done. If you fail it then you fail it won't be the end of the world. There's nothing wrong with failing the first time you try something Grace as long as you don't give up and you try again. You just keep trying until you get it right." Danni instructed with a warm smile. "Beside my little munchkin you haven't failed a test yet so there's no reason to believe that this time will be the time you break that record."

She glanced towards Grace, her smile widening when she saw the thoughtful look on Grace's face. Danni pulled the car to a stop in the parent drop off area outside of the school, an area which was currently empty. She killed the engine, grabbing her bag before she opened the door and climbed out, her eyes automatically scanning the surrounding area looking for any potential threats. Years as a Detective had ingrained the habit into her and she doubted it was one which she ever break, especially not when she was with her daughter.

Danni moved round the front of the car to where Grace stood, smiling down at her when her daughter automatically took her hand before they headed through the playground area towards the small building where the breakfast club was being held. It was only Grace's second time attending the club and although she had said she had enjoyed it and made friends, Danni still wanted to make sure with her own eyes that it was everything which the teacher had told her about it was true.

"I've decided that you're right about the test mamma, I'm just going to do my best with them." Grace said, breaking the silence between them.

"That's a very good attitude to have baby" Danni said, tightening her hand on Grace's hand slightly. "Make sure you have a good day today at school, be good for Ms Clarke, listen to what she has to tell you and work hard at your lessons okay? I'll be in the usual spot to pick you up at three o'clock." She promised as she pushed open the door to the classroom and let go of Grace's hand.

"I will mamma, I'll see you later. I love you" Grace answered giving Danni a hug.

"I love you too Gracie bean" Danni said, leaning down and kissing Grace on the forehead. She smiled when Grace smiled at her before she turned and entered the classroom. Danni glanced up, her eyes moving over the room, taking in all the details. There was one teacher at the front of the room who was talking to one of the students while the other six worked away on something. They were a similar age to Grace and seemed pleased to see her if the way their faces lit up as they called her name was any indication to go by. Danni nodded toward the teacher, glancing once more towards Grace before she headed out of the building and back towards her car.

Danni breathed out as she climbed back into the car, starting the engine up and headed away from the school, down one of the side roads which was the quickest route to her partner Steve McGarrett's house. He had called her the night asking her to pick him up on her way into the office because there was something which he wanted to discuss with her. She had been curious about what he had wanted to talk about but he had sidestepped any of her questions before he ended the call with her leaving her staring at the phone blankly.

The traffic was light so it only took her ten minutes to reach Steve's home. She parked outside it, beeping twice on the horn to let him know she had arrived and then proceeded to wait, tapping her hands against the steering wheel in time with the beat of the music. She smiled when his front door opened and he appeared wearing a dark red t-shirt and dark cargo pants, an outfit which she was beginning to think was the backbone to his whole wardrobe. Steve looked down toward her, raising his hand in acknowledgement to her before he turned back to the door, closing and locking it before he made his way down the drive towards her. He pulled the passenger door open and climbed in, slamming the door behind him, the action causing Danni to roll her eyes as she mentally added on another day's car ban for Steve.

"Morning Danno" Steve commented as he slipped his seatbelt on, his dark blue eyes dropping to take in her outfit before he looked back up at her, an look of amusement to his gaze. "I'm guessing that you're planning on having a paperwork today then?" He asked her, leaning back in the chair. Danni glanced down at the skirt and top she was wearing before she glanced up at him and shrugged at him before she drove away from his house.

"Well I live in hope Steven. I've got way too much on today as it is without adding a fresh case on top of it. Besides I think I've already proven that it doesn't matter what I wear to work, I can still keep up with anything which is thrown up at us." Danni pointed out to him, flashing him a smile which grew into a wide grin when he rolled his eyes at her. She shook her head at him, reaching up and rubbing at the back of her neck, squeezing down on the muscle before she lowered her hand back to the steering wheel focusing her attention back on the road.

"So what have you got on today then?" Steve queried, breaking the silence which had fallen between them.

"A hell of a lot of paperwork to do, I've got a meeting with Amelia Webster today, she's in charge of the DA office here so it would be beneficial to the team if you came to that meeting with me Steve so I can introduced the two of you. Our team will be having a lot to do with the DA office" Dani told him seriously, glancing towards him again.

"What time is your meeting with her?" Steve questioned, frowning slightly.

"At one o clock, the meeting tends to last about an hour though I think the one today may be longer because she wants to discuss both the Doran case and the Sang Min case with me which reminds me, we need to write up the charges against Zankovic up today and interview him, he's been in lock up over the weekend." She told him, raising an eyebrow at him when he shook his head.

"Already taken care of Danni, I spoke to Chin yesterday, he and Kono are taking the interview. They said they would get there early to get it over and done with so it wouldn't surprise me if they are already in there with him. Once they've done that they'll write up the interview notes and then O'Connor will contact his contacts at Interpol and pass it over to them. I'll try and come to the meeting with the DA as well though I won't make any promises, it depends what happens today." Steve stated.

"I'm glad you sorted out Zankovic, the sooner we're finished with him, the better it will be" Danni said with a smile before her expression turned thoughtful as she turned towards him. "So why did you need me to pick you up then? What have you to tell me?" She asked, waiting for him to speak. He remained silent for a moment as though he was trying to pick the words he wanted to use to speak to her.

"I thought about what you told me on Friday when we were in the car on our way back from finding Lowry" He told her, crossing his arms over his chest. "About the fact that we may have found out that Natalie Reed wasn't who she claimed to be and maybe have solved the case before Evan and Kono were kidnapped, if we had someone who remained back at the headquarters running down all our leads as they happened rather than having to wait until one of us had enough time to check."

"I remember the conversation" Danni said slowly, pulling the car to a stop at a red light, keeping her eyes forward. "Did you come to a decision about it then?" She asked him.

"It didn't take long for me to realise that you were right so I spoke to the Governor when I got back to the office while you were picking Grace up and told her that we needed someone on our team who job role was to be our computer and Intel specialist. I also told her that we had someone in mind for the position." He commented, moving round in his seat so he could see her reaction to what he was saying.

"Right and how did she take that?" Danni remarked, waiting for him to continue.

"We discussed it and she's agreed to give Toast a month's trail with us in that position to see how he works out and whether he can sort himself out and get back onto the straight and narrow. I spoke to him on Friday and he's accepted the job and will start today though I told him to get in at ten. He has restriction on him though Danno. I know you trust him and that you see something in him but I have to think about the rest of the team as well. I need all of us to be at our best at all time. We're the Governor's personal task force so everyone will be watching us, waiting for us to mess up just like you said. Toast's can't be at his best if he spends the majority of his day baked out of his head so I've told him that he has to go to rehabs and I've pulled some strings and got him into one of the best ones available on the island who are known for their discretion. I'm giving him just one chance though Danni, if he fails; If he misses a meeting or fails to meet with his sponsors or he smoked even once than he is off the team and nothing will change my mind over it, not even you. The only way he's allowed to miss a meeting is if we have an extremely urgent case. That would be the only time I'd be willing to overlook it." He told her seriously.

Danni nodded her head. Moving away from the light when it turned green before she spoke to him.

"I understand Steve and that seems fair to me." She told him quietly.

"That's all you're going to say about it, that you understand and that it seems fair?" Steve commented, shooting her a suspicious look, his eyes scanning her face. "You don't seem surprised by the news"

"That's because it's not a surprise to me Steve, I already knew that you had hired him." Danni confessed.

"You already knew I had? How did you know about it Danni? I haven't told anyone else that I had hired Toast unless…" His voice trailed off as he watched her. "Unless Toast himself told you about it?" He asked with another frown.

"He did" She told him. "He came to see me on Saturday when I was on North shore for Meka's BBQ and beach party. He told me how you had offered him a job as the computer and Intel specialist and how he had accepted it. He told me about your conditions as well. He seems determined so whatever you said to him clearly made an impression because he refused my invite to join us because he had to get to his first rehab meeting. You know he seemed genuinely thankful for the chance we're giving him though he kept telling me that you had told him that the only reason you were offering him the job was because of me" She remarked softly.

"Well he's right, the only reason I offered him the job was for you" Steve replied with a shrug, ignoring her surprised look at him. "I just hope for your sake Danni that he doesn't let you and the trust you clearly have for him, down in anyway" He reached up and ran his hand through his short dark hair before he continued speaking. "There's another piece of news I have to tell you, this time it's about O'Connor."

"If you're going to tell me that you've hired Jack to join our team then you don't need to. Jack told me yesterday on the phone that he was joining the team and starting today." Danni said.

"O'Connor told you over the phone? When did he even get your number? Did you give it to him because I don't remember seeing you give it to him" Steve stated, attracting Danni's attention to him.

"He had my cell number because of the case. I used it to ring him remember, once he learned about the change he saved the numbers he had, probably figuring that he would need them. Anyway he told me when he rang me, he seemed torn between being pissed off and resigned to the change. Can't say that I blame him either."

"No offence Danni but why would O'Connor ring you and tell you about it?" Steve asked her, the hand resting on his thigh curling into a fist.

"Because I'm the only member on the team who has a child" Danni replied simply. "Jack rang me because he was looking for some advice on the schooling around him, what schools were good, which ones had after school clubs he could use. Jack's having to move his two young daughters to Hawaii now that he's being stationed here. He had two of them you know, Poppy and Bella. It turns out that Poppy is only a couple of months older than Grace so I told him about the school which Grace attends. We've also arranged a few play dates between them as well. If Poppy and Gracie hit it off and become friends then it would help Jack's daughter to settle in here and adjust to change, sometimes having one friend is all you need. Bella is only four so it shouldn't affect her as much as Poppy" Danni commented with a smile. "To be honest Steve, I think Jack joining the team is a good thing. You can't deny that he really helped us with the Lowry case and he seemed to fit in well with us. Chin certainly got on with him like a house on fire from what I could tell, not to mention the fact that we'll have continual access to the NSA database. That added to your ability to still access the Military database means that there shouldn't be too much that we can't find when it comes to our suspects. If they have a criminal record somewhere then we can access it. What about you though? Are you happy with the changes to the team?" She asked him as she turned into the Ali'iolani Hale car park pulling into the parking space which was now reserved for her use only.

"I'm going to reserve judgement on the pair of them until I see how well they can work with us." Steve answered after a moment as he released his seatbelt. "Don't get me wrong, I can see that O'Connor is skilled and extremely competent at what he does but-" His voice trailed off causing her to smile in understanding at him.

"But Jack is the first member of the team who you didn't pick for the team yourself because it was a decision which the Governor and NSA Director made between them. You were simply informed of it and told to deal with it right?" She remarked, reaching over and patting his arm gently, meeting his eyes when he looked at her. "Just remember before you judge Jack Steve that he didn't ask to be transferred to our team and have to upend his and his daughters' life. He was quite happy leading his own team in Washington DC which for the record in case you didn't know, he's still meant to do so he's now stuck with two demanding jobs. not only that but he's had to take his children out of their school at the beginning of the school year and bring them to a place to live that they have never been before. Trust me, I speak from experience when I say that it's not an easy thing to do Steve" She told him, meeting his eyes when he glanced over to her before she looked away and began gathering her bags together instead, focusing on that task before she pushed her door open and climbed out of the car.

Danni glanced around her, looking across the roof at Steve when he spoke, a thoughtful note to his voice.

"What about Poppy and Bella's mum?" He asked her. "You haven't mentioned her at all."

"I haven't mentioned her because I have no idea Steve. I haven't heard Jack mention her before. All he spoke about was Poppy and Bella. I'd say based on that and what he said on Friday that she's not in the picture for some reason and that Jack is a single dad raising them himself." She told him.

"But you're happy our two newest members?" Steve asked, coming to her side as they began moving towards the entrance to the building.

"Yeah I am, I think that both of them are going to make good additions to the team as long as we give them a chance." She said, giving him a pointed look. "What did Chin and Kono say when you told them about it on Friday? I assume you mentioned it to them when you all went for drinks after the graduation we threw for Kono." She said, slipping past him into the cool reception area when he held the door open for her, ushering her in with his hand.

"I didn't tell them on Friday, you're my partner and my second in command Danni so I wanted to tell you about it first though apparently I didn't need to tell you because you seem to know everything which is happening on our team." He remarked with a frown as he followed her in. Danni smiled at him reaching out and catching his hand, squeezing down on it for a second before she let go of him.

"It's not always going to always happening like this. There's still going to be plenty of times when you tell me something which I'll have no idea about. This is probably just a one off." She said soothingly to him, showing her security card to the guards before she swiped it through the barriers and stepped through them heading towards the elevators. "I see that they've started beefing up security here since last Friday" She commented, waiting until Steve had joined her before she pressed the button, calling the elevator to their floor.

"Yeah I told the Governor to start doing it. A place like this would be a prime target for the criminal element on the island to target, considering the fact that it now has us and the DA's office here."

"That's true I guess" Danni agreed, stepping into the lift and hitting the number three button, waiting for the door to slide close before she spoke again. "Are you still going to have the team briefing this morning?" She queried curiously.

"Yeah I plan to have one at least once a week. I have to tell Chin and Kono about the changes to the team though they probably already know about it. I'll have to look into their roles as well, try and spread them out more so everyone has something to specialise on." Steve answered crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the back wall.

"They might know about Jack joining because there's a chance that he spoke to Chin and Chin mentioned it to Kono but I doubt they know about Toast if you haven't said anything to them. The only reason that I knew about him getting the job was because he hunted me down to thank me in person for convincing you to give him a chance. So let's make sure we actually do that and give the pair of them a chance to prove themselves" She cautioned him, patting his back before they left the elevator together and made their way down the long corridor which led to their headquarters.

Danni glanced around her automatically as she entered, a smile coming to her face when she saw Jack standing alone at the computer table, sipping at a coffee as he looked down at something on it. She looked away and focused on the computer table curiously. She hadn't had time to look at it on the Friday when it had been installed and she had already been banned from operating it alone by Steve when they had spoken on the phone the day before, or at least banned until Steve could give her lessons on it. A quick glance showed that Jack was the only one in the office which probably meant that Chin and Kono were downstairs interviewing Zankovic, Steve had already said that Toast wasn't due in until ten so Danni doubted that they would see him until at least nine thirty.

"Morning Jack" She said approaching the tall blond with a smile, glancing to the side of her as Steve walked past them, giving Jack a wave as he entered his office, closing the door behind him. Danni blinked before she turned back to Jack and spoke. "Welcome to the team, I hope you're going to be happy here with us, you've definitely come at the best time, we're still trying to get our bearings" Danni remarked ruefully, tilting her head to the side as Jack smiled at her. She had to admit, the man in front of her certainly was good looking, especially when he smiled, his pale blue eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Thanks Danni, I appreciate that, hopefully everything goes well." Jack responded. "There's fresh coffee in the kitchen if you wanted to grab one, I made it about fifteen minutes ago. I've never quite learned how to start the day without a hit of caffeine" He remarked.

"I think it's a parent thing because I'm the same." She remarked, patting him on the arm as she headed past him into her office which was next to Steve's. She still had a few things to put away and get settled in the medium sized room but it was still a great deal more comfortable and cosy then when she had first seen it. She moved to her desk, powering up her computer and dropped her bag beneath the desk, her eyes landing on the stack of files in her in-tray, files which were no doubt related to their last three cases. The Lowry case alone still required a lot of work from them, reports needed to be written, interviews typed up, and evidence collected from CSU. Then once it was done, Danni would need to prepare everything to pass over to Interpol when they came to collect Zankovic from their custody which would no doubt be either that afternoon or early the next day.

Breathing out slowly Danni picked up her coffee mug and headed towards the kitchen, grabbing the coffee machine and pouring it into her mug with a thankful sigh. She pulled out her milk from the fridge, smelling it and nodded, adding it to the drink while making a mental note to herself to pick up some more milk on her way home that evening. She moved back to the main room and moved back to Jack.

"So did you have a good weekend? Get up to anything or were you just trying to learn the island?" She asked, blowing on her drink before she took a sip of it.

"I spent the whole weekend house hunting" Jack told her with a sigh. "I've found a place which I can rent for the time being but it's not an ideal location. My older sister is flying over later on this afternoon with Poppy and Bella so at least there will be somewhere they can go." He said running his hand through his thick blond hair.

"So your sister is coming down with them, is she staying?" Danni asked, surprised when Jack nodded at her.

"Yeah, Natasha. She's decided that she wants a change of scenery so she's decided to move over here with her two sons to help me with the girls. She'll look after them while I'm at work until I get myself sorted. She owns a bunch of successful crèches back in DC and the surrounding area so I figure she's planning on expanding her empire and opening a crèche here somewhere" He commented, reaching up and rubbing tiredly at his eyes. Danni watched him for a moment, wondering what the other man was hiding, something was clearly up because she couldn't think of many older sisters who would not only be willing to move to an island they had never been before but be willing to move their two children either. For a moment she thought about pushing but she decided not to. Jack was entitled to a private life and if he wanted to tell them then he would.

"The whole moving to Hawaii from the mainland will get easier with time." Danni told him sympathetically. "When I first arrived here I had never been here before so I knew no one other than my ex-husband. I mean I was lucky that Duncan and I get on most of the time but it still wasn't an ideal situation. Once I began making friends of my own then it grew better. At least you'll have your girls, your sister and your nephews with you. Having that family support will make a lot of difference for you."

"That's true" Jack agreed. "So what about you? Did you get up to anything over the weekend other than your ex partner's beach party?" He asked.

"Not really, I did chores and mother stuff once we got home." She replied before she looked over her shoulder, looking at the pile of work which she could see through the glass panes of her office. "I best crack on with my work, I've got a ton of files which I need to go through so I guess I'll see you in an hour or so for the team meeting that Steve wants to have. If you've done your report for Lowry then email it over to me. If you haven't done it yet then the quicker I can get it the better," She said, slipping back into work mode.

"I'm half way through it, you should have it shortly" Jack told her.

"That's good to know" She said, flashing him a smile over her shoulder before she made her way back to her office.

All she needed was a few hours of undisrupted work.

The only problem was that she had the feeling that she wasn't going to get it.


Author Note

Thanks for taking the time to read

An especially massive thanks if you've taken the time to review or follow or make this story into a favourite, I appreciate the support more than I can say