Wow, thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites and alerts. You are wonderful!

Here's the next part, I hope you enjoy...

Chapter 2:

Earlier that day

"Danno?" Grace asked tentatively from her place on the backseat, her voice barely audible over the roaring of the Camaro's engine.

"Yes, Monkey?" Danny replied after a moment of silence, turning his head to throw a curious glance at his daughter. "What is it?"

Five-0 were waiting for a major arms deal to take place but according to their latest intel said deal wasn't expected to go down before the weekend. It was now late Thursday afternoon and since they were kind of stuck in the current case, Steve had decided to call it a day and make a fresh start the next morning.

Knowing that they all needed a little recreation time Danny had invited the team over for dinner because he knew how much fun Grace had, spending some quality time with her adopted aunt and uncles. Chin and Kono had offered to buy all the ingredients they needed for a nice barbecue while Danny and Steve had made a small detour to pick up Grace from school. They had almost reached Danny's house when Grace had finally started to talk; she had been unusually quiet since she had climbed into the car, just staring out the window, obviously deep in thought about something or other.

"Gracie?" Danny encouraged her gently after another minute of silence, trying not to sound too worried about her strange behavior. He felt that his daughter had something on her mind and he was determined to find out what was bothering her. "You know that you can ask me anything, right?"

Slightly raising her head Grace briefly locked eyes with Danny before her gaze flickered to Steve's service weapon on his right hip. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at her father and asked in a low whisper, "Is there a difference between a toy gun and a real gun?"

Keeping silent for a moment, Danny furrowed his brow and tried to sort his thoughts as he studied his daughter; this was definitely pretty much the last question he'd ever expected from his little girl and he had absolutely no idea where this was coming from or where she was heading to.

Exchanging a quick look with his partner who just raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders but otherwise kept his attention on the traffic, Danny turned around in the passenger's seat and eyeballed his daughter. "Of course there is, Monkey," he said quietly, smiling gently when he saw Grace slightly nodding her head. "But I'm sure you already know that, right?"

"Yes," Grace answered hesitantly, looking down at her fingers that nervously played with a fine thread that stuck out from the hem of her school skirt. "But…" she started, only to interrupt herself immediately and bite her lips; encouraged by Danny's gentle prodding she took a deep breath and continued her explanations. "But Tommy said that they look exactly the same and you don't know the difference until you try to fire a shot," she rattled off, still fiddling with the beige thread. "And not even cops know the difference, and sometimes there are accidents and Tommy said that he had heard about a police officer who had been killed because someone had given him a toy gun instead of a real gun and… IdontwantyoutogetkilledDanno."

The last few words came out in an almost unintelligible whisper and Danny needed a long moment to comprehend their meaning. "Hey, Monkey, everything's alright," he assured his daughter, stretching out his left hand to gently pat Grace's leg when he saw the worry and fear in her big brown eyes. "Let me tell you something, okay?" he asked, slightly squeezing his fingers around her knee until Grace started to squirm under his touch.

"Danno, stop it," she giggled, trying to wriggle herself out of her father's grip. "That tickles."

"Oh, does it?" Danny asked, faking innocence as he continued to move his fingers; he was proud to always have one or the other trick up his sleeve to cheer up his little girl.

"Danno," Grace exclaimed, still giggling as she slapped away Danny's hand. She grinned at him for another moment before the smile slowly disappeared from her face and she got serious again.

"Alright, Grace, listen closely, okay?" Danny said with a little sigh after a final squeeze of Grace's knee. He turned around as far as the seatbelt allowed and locked eyes with his daughter, his left hand still resting on her leg. "First of all, this Tommy guy," he started with a disgusted snort, his gaze briefly flickering to the driver's seat when he noticed the amused smirk on Steve's lips. "He's a jerk," Danny continued without taking further notice of his partner. "And I've told you a thousand times before that you shouldn't listen to him."

"Maybe I should come over and shoot that kid?" Steve suggested under his breath so that only Danny could hear him. "I could show him the difference between a toy gun and a real gun, you know?" he offered with a wink of his eye, knowing full well that that boy was a red rag to his friend.

"Very tempting, Steven," Danny replied equally quietly, looking for a moment as if he honestly considered Steve's offer. "But not helping at the moment," he then added with a roll of his eyes, slapping his hand against Steve's upper arm before he turned back toward his daughter.

"You don't have to whisper, I can hear you both," Grace said from her place on the backset, interrupting the looming mini rant between the two men. A slight smile was creeping across her face as she watched her father and her adopted uncle; she didn't know why, but listening to their arguments always made her happy.

"Oh, is that right?" Danny asked, quickly placing his hand back on her knee and resuming his tickling. "Then take this as punishment for eavesdropping."

"Daaaannoooo, stop it," Grace half wailed and half giggled, trying to push Danny's hand away but he just switched to her other leg which made her giggle even louder. "Uncle Steve, help me!"

"Oh, I don't think so, Monkey," Danny said with a wink of his eye, stopping for a moment to give Grace a little time to catch her breath. "Not even SuperSEAL here is capable of driving my car AND saving my daughter at the same time," he added good-humoredly before he flashed Grace an impish grin and started all over again which sent her right into the next giggling fit.

"We're there," Steve announced half a minute later when he pulled the Camaro into a parking slot in front of Danny's house and turned off the engine. Removing the seatbelt he also turned around in his seat and watched the interaction between father and daughter for a moment, smiling brightly about Danny's perpetual ability to make Grace happy.

Loudly clearing his throat, Steve tried to put on a solemn face when he interrupted the pair in front of him. "Excuse me, Miss. I'm with Five-0. Do you need help?" he asked, winking at Grace before he playfully narrowed his eyes and scowled at his partner.

"Yes, please. Help me," Grace laughed out, once more slapping Danny's hand away. "You have to arrest him," she said breathlessly, pointing accusingly at her father who played along and raised his hands in defense.

"Traitor," Danny quickly murmured towards his daughter before he turned around and faced his partner. "Alright, I give up." Thinking for a moment, he suddenly burst into laughter; dropping his hands, he cocked his head a little bit to the right and smirked at the other man, "Now I'm curious, Steven. Do you want me to book myself?"

"Why don't we go inside and finish that talk about toy guns and real guns?" Danny asked reluctantly when he exited the car and folded the passenger's seat so that Grace was able to climb out. "Then you can tell me what you're worried about, okay?"

As much as he would have liked to forget about the whole topic, he knew that Grace was never satisfied until they talked it through and she got the answers she was searching for. "Go ahead, Monkey. I'll be right after you, I just need to talk to Uncle Steve for a moment," Danny said, placing a kiss on top of Grace's head before he sent her inside.

He couldn't help but start to smile when he watched her run the short distance to the front door, her pigtails bobbing up and down with every step she made. But then the smile disappeared as fast as it had come and Danny heaved a deep sigh, wearily scrubbing a hand over his face as he rounded the car and approached his friend.

"Steve, wait a second, would you?" he begged, placing a hand on Steve's forearm to stop him from entering the house. "I could really use some advice here."

Waiting a moment until Grace had opened the front door and stepped inside the house, Danny breathed out another sigh and slowly shook his head. "I really, really, really don't want to talk to my daughter about guns," he confessed quietly, locking eyes with his partner. "Why on earth is she asking such questions? She's just a little girl. She's supposed to play with dolls or go to her cheerleader training or watch cheesy movies. Hell, or even play tennis." Danny breathed heavily by the time he had finished, running his hands over his hair and throwing Steve a pleading look.

Watching the onslaught of emotions on Danny's face, Steve quickly bit back the cheeky comment he had on the tip of his tongue, knowing better than to tease the smaller man when he was clearly worried about his daughter.

Keeping silent for a moment to search for the right words that would be able to calm down his friend, Steve slowly began to smile when a sudden thought crossed his mind. "I think you should just show her that this Tommy guy has absolutely no idea what he's talking about," he suggested, starting to pull his weapon out of his holster.

"Whoa, what are you doing, you Neanderthal animal?" Danny interrupted him, shaking his head in disbelief when he watched Steve fiddling with his gun. "You are aware of the fact that you can't just go and shoot a little boy, right? I mean, as tempting as your offer is, I don't think that will solve my problems."

"Very funny, Danny," Steve replied with a roll of his eyes, looking up from his weapon to meet Danny's gaze. "That's not what I had in mind. I think you should show Grace…"

"No, no, no, Steven, definitely not!" Danny called out when he finally realized Steve's plan; vigorously shaking his head, he stared wide-eyed at the taller man. "Have you lost your goddamn mind? I'm not letting my daughter touch a weapon. And now put your gun away. End of discussion."

"End of discussion? We didn't even start yet," Steve replied impatiently, this time not willing to get into another argument with his partner. "Nothing can happen, Danny. Relax, okay?" He professionally removed the magazine from his weapon and put it away into one of the many pockets of his cargo pants, then he double-checked the chamber and the barrel for any remaining bullets. "See? I removed the ammo clip, it's completely safe now."

"I don't care if you removed the ammo clip or not," Danny replied heatedly, still shaking his head about Steve's idea. "I just don't want my daughter to come near a weapon. Do you understand me, Steven?" he pressed through gritted teeth, dangerously narrowing his eyes as he pointed at the gun in Steve's hands. "And now Put. It. Away."

"Hey, calm down. Or you might suffer a stroke," Steve said nonchalantly, nodding half-amused and half-worried at Danny's bright red face.

"I will calm down once you put away your gun and drop that stupid idea of handing my daughter a weapon," Danny huffed out angrily. "What the hell is wrong inside that crazy brain of yours, huh?" he asked with an excessive wave of his hands, the volume of his voice just below the level of shouting.

"Okay listen, Danny," Steve said with an impatient little sigh after a moment of uncomfortable silence when both men just stared at each other. "Do you trust me?"

Narrowing his eyes even more, Danny glared belligerently at his partner before he visibly deflated and all the tension seemed to flee his body. "That's not fair," he sighed tiredly, pointing his forefinger directly at Steve's chest. "You know perfectly well that I trust you with my life… and with the life of my daughter," he added after a short moment of contemplation.

"Then you know that I'd never do anything that could harm her," Steve said sincerely. "Let me handle this, okay?" Locking eyes with his friend he didn't blink once as he waited for Danny's affirmation which finally came in form of a slight nod and another weary sigh.

"Good," Steve said contentedly. "After all, guns are my playground, right?" Juggling with the unloaded weapon in his right hand he slapped his free hand on Danny's shoulder and flashed him a bright grin that made Danny inwardly groan, worrying silently about how much Steve actually enjoyed the whole topic.

"Alright, Gracie," Steve said gently, looking down at his adopted niece who was sitting on the couch next to him and curiously stared back at him. "I'm sure you have seen and handled a toy weapon before, right? Maybe on Halloween?"

"Yes, of course," Grace answered, her gaze briefly flickering to her father. "But Danno always says that guns are no toys and you never should point a gun at another person, not even a toy gun."

"That's right," Danny murmured from his place at the other side of the coffee table, obviously pleased that his daughter remembered and heeded his teachings.

"And he's right about that," Steve nodded, ignoring Danny's mumbling and concentrating solely on the girl in front of him. "Do you remember what the toy gun felt like? What was it made from? Was it heavy?"

"It was made from plastic, I think," Grace said pensively, scrunching her face when she thought about Steve's questions. "It wasn't heavy and it felt like… a toy." She shrugged her shoulders and finally shook her head when she couldn't think of anything else.

"Okay, good," Steve said with an encouraging smile before he turned his head and briefly locked eyes with Danny, silently willing him to relax when he noticed his tensed posture.

Hesitantly nodding in return Danny weakly waved his right hand through the air to give his okay; he still didn't feel comfortable with Steve's plan but he trusted his partner more than anybody else so he decided heavy-heartedly that once in his lifetime he would just shut his mouth, lean back and observe.

"Good," Steve repeated as he turned his attention back to Grace; watching her for a long moment he slowly and carefully pulled his gun from his holster. It felt different without the magazine that he had removed earlier and that was still safely stowed away in one of his pockets; the gun felt definitely lighter than usual and somewhat imbalanced in his grip as he placed it onto his outstretched left hand and presented it to Grace. "I want you to take it," he said quietly, slightly raising his hand. "Tell me if it feels like a toy gun."

Staring wide-eyed at the weapon, Grace slowly blinked a few times and hesitantly looked up to meet her uncle's gaze. "Really?" she whispered, not daring to move a single muscle.

"It's perfectly safe, you can take it," Steve encouraged her gently with another nod of his head. He knew that Grace was a very clever and responsible girl and that she would never try to take the weapon without his or her father's permission.

Swallowing visibly Grace turned around and nervously knotted her fingers. "May I, Danno?" she asked shyly, looking like she half hoped and half feared for Danny's agreement.

"When your uncle Steve says it's safe then you can trust him," Danny answered, forcing a tiny smile onto his dry lips. "You don't have to take it if you feel uncomfortable, Monkey. But if you want to know what a real gun feels like now might be the best time for it." And the only time, Danny added silently, swearing to himself that he would never again listen to any of his partner's stupid ideas.

It took all of Danny's willpower to stay calm when he watched his little girl slowly taking the gun from Steve's hand and cautiously examining it. After a moment of silent awe Grace started to ask questions about the weapon and its functioning, hesitantly at first but with more and more curiosity the longer Steve talked and explained everything in simple words so that the 11-year-old could easily understand him.

Danny relaxed a tiny bit while he listened to Steve's voice, calmly answering every single one of Grace's question, but he still had to restrain himself from jumping up and yanking the gun out of his girl's grip. Startling in surprise when his cell phone suddenly started to chirp and buzz on the table in front of him, he unclenched his fists, huffed out a deep breath and ran his hands over his hair before he finally grabbed the little device and stood up.

"Hey Chin, what's up?" he cheerfully answered the phone after a quick look at the caller's ID, walking away from the couch to not disturb Steve and Grace. "Where are you?" Danny asked, strolling toward the window to throw a look outside. His stomach started to grumble when he thought about the upcoming barbecue and all the tasty stuff Chin and Kono were supposed to bring along and he smiled in anticipation. "We're all getting hungry. You really should hurry up or…"

"Listen, Danny," Chin interrupted him curtly; the serious tone of his voice instantly crashing all hopes of a relaxing dinner and Danny sighed silently. "We got new intel, the arms deal was obviously moved up, it's supposed to take place in twenty minutes," he explained breathlessly, sounding as if he was walking very fast while he rattled off all the facts. "SWAT has been informed; they're already on their way. I'll send you the address, meet us there."

For a moment Danny could hear loud background noises and then Chin suddenly ended the call before Danny could even voice his agreement. "Damn," he whispered, briefly closing his eyes in defeat; that was definitely not how he had pictured his evening.

Taking a deep breath he quickly pulled himself together and turned around to inform his partner. "We gotta go," Danny said with a wave of his hand; he was just about to explain what was going on when Steve's phone also started to ring.

"It's the Governor," Steve said after a look at the device, quickly taking the gun from Grace's small hands and putting it back into the holster as he stood up. "What's wrong?" he asked curtly, his thumb hovering over the display as he stared at his friend. He needed to know what was going on; otherwise he wouldn't be able to give the Governor the answers the man was probably calling for.

"Arms deal got moved up," Danny explained as fast as possible, before he repeated urgently. "We gotta go, right now."

Nodding in agreement, Steve gently petted Grace's hair and mouthed a quick excuse, already walking toward the door when he finally answered the call. "Governor?" he said, slightly scrunching up his face when he heard the angry reply. "Yes, I know, Sir. We're on our way, we…" The rest of the sentence was drowned out when Steve opened the door and headed for the waiting Camaro, leaving Danny behind to deal with his daughter.

Looking after his partner, Danny heaved a deep sigh before he turned toward his little girl and opened his arms. "Come here, Gracie," he said, hugging her tightly and pressing a kiss on her hair as soon as he had stepped into his embrace. "I'm really sorry, but I have to go." He kissed her again, then he reluctantly ended the hug and slowly retreated a small step to look down at Grace. "I'm going to call Mrs. Mekeliki and ask her to look after you until I'm back, alright?" Danny said gently, referring to one of his neighbors. Mrs. Mekeliki was a retired nurse who had offered to keep an eye on Grace if Danny was not available and Grace loved not only the old lady but also her poodle 'Bones'.

Grace's face lit up as soon as she heard Mrs. Mekeliki's name and she almost bounced in anticipation. "Do you think I can play with Bones?" she asked, her brown eyes glistening with joy when she thought of the little white dog, toy guns and real guns suddenly forgotten.

"I'm sure you can do that," Danny replied good-naturedly, once more pulling his daughter into a quick hug before he joined his partner. "Love you, Monkey."

"Love you more, Danno," Grace replied, enthusiastically waving after her father until his black Camaro disappeared from her view.

(tbc)

Yes, of course there will be whump ;-) Be patient and stay tuned for the next chapter!