Innocent observations

Since their first encounter Grace had occupied Steve's thoughts a lot more than he'd like to admit. They had crossed paths a few more times over the past few weeks, she'd assisted Max on some of his cases, they'd pass each other in the hallway when he was there to see Max and he'd also seen her a few times at Wailana Coffee House. He never walked over and spoke to her, he wasn't really sure why, it just never felt like the right thing to do.

Danny had mentioned her more than once; he would not very discretely put it out there that she was a very attractive woman and ask Steve if he agreed or not. Not matter how many times Danny asked, Steve always had the same answer. "Dr. Ó Máille is an attractive woman, yes. But then again there are a lot of attractive women in the world, Danny." It wasn't just because he was tired of Danny bringing it up, but also because he had a girlfriend. He and Catherine had never had an actual conversation about their relationship, Steve had never been that type of guy, but they were both consenting adults who knew what they were a part of so he never saw the need for it.

So far his day had been rather uneventful. They caught a case that seemed like it was gonna be really complicated, but it turned out to be a simple case of grave digging gone wrong. So now he was sitting at a table at Waiola Shave Ice, waiting for Danny would come back with their shave ice.

"Here you go, cantaloupe flavoured shave ice. God knows why…" Danny said and placed it in front of Steve. "Don't knock it till you try it," Steve replied while taking a bite. His very opinionated partner had always made sure he knew that cantaloupe should not be a flavour of shave ice and certainly not the name of a melon. "So got any exciting plans this weekend?" Steve asked, knowing the answer would probably be no, since it was Rachel's weekend. "I promised Rachel I would come and see one of Grace's tennis matches, because god forbid she'd play an actual sport." Danny snorted, clearly very unsatisfied with his ex-wife. Steve had gotten used to Danny mentioning the many wrongs Rachel and Stan were doing while raising his daughter. Apparently it was not good for a girl her age to think tennis was a sport, or that just because you have show and tell at school you should get a bunny. "At least it's not water polo," Steve joked, trying to lighten the mood. Without any luck.

"You think you're funny, huh? Just wait til you have a daughter and her mother insists on her playing tennis, then you can joke about water polo and see how not so funny it is!" To avoid riling up Danny anymore, Steve didn't say anything and focused on his shave ice. He'd never really thought about having kids in the past, it had always felt like the wrong thing to do considering the type of job he had. But now, that he had more reasonable hours and a little more job security, it didn't seem like the most terrible idea. In all honestly it was something that he thought about from time to time, and seeing how much Danny loves Grace and how happy she makes him didn't really make it any less appealing. The only thing always putting a lid on his thought was Catherine. Sure they'd been together for a while, but they had never had a single conversation about the seriousness of their relationship and certainly not the future. He did remember that she once said that even if she loves kids, she wasn't sure it was something for her.

"Isn't that Dr. Ó Máille?" Danny said looking over Steve's shoulder to the counter. Lost in his own thoughts, Steve didn't notice he said anything, resulting in Danny snapping his fingers in front of his face. "What?" he asked, confused as to why Danny would do that. "I said: isn't that Dr. Ó Máille?" he repeated and nodded towards the counter where she was paying Kamekona. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a burgundy v-neck blouse, nude mary janes with a pair of sunglasses placed on her head. This wasn't the first time Steve had seen her out of scrubs, but it was the first time he saw her in something so casual. She would normally wear flashy colours like orange, turquoise and pencil skirts or dresses. He liked it, it suited her.

Without any warning and the opportunity to object, Danny called out to her and waved her over. She gave a small smile when she saw them and walked over. "Detective Williams, Commander McGarrett, pleasure as always." She said as she reached them and gave each of them a warm smile. Her eyes meeting Steve's as he greeted her in return. She wasn't sure what is was about them, but his eyes gave a sense of comfort. Like she could trust him, even if she didn't really know him.

"What brings you here today?" Danny asked, motioning for her to sit down and join them. As she sat down her arm gently brushed against Steve's, giving her goose bumps. She ignored it and moved a little further away from him to avoid it happening again, without making it obvious. "Cantaloupe shave ice. It's the only place on the island that sells the flavour," she said as she took a bite. Danny raised his eyebrows at her statement, and Steve couldn't help but chuckle at his partner's expression. "Cantaloupe. Well I guess I was wrong Steven, you're not the only person on the planet who likes cantaloupe." Not completely sure what they were talking about, she just gave Danny a smile and took another bite.

"So I've got a question for you. My daughter, Grace, has been wondering what her name means and where it comes from, which I have no clue about. I mean I know why I named her Grace, but she wants to know the origin if it, so I'm a little desperate." Danny said looking at Grace with hopeful eyes.

"It comes from the Latin word gratia," she started, making Danny smile. "Which translated into English is Grace. It was created in the 17th century by the Puritans." Visibly grateful that he finally had an answer to give his daughter, Danny leaned over the table and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you!" She just smiled in response and continued on her shave ice.

As she was about to ask them how their case was going, Danny's phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled when he saw who the caller was. "Hey monkey, I was just talking about you." Not wanting to eavesdrop, Grace occupied herself with her shave ice and the plastic spoon. She could feel Steve shift beside her, causing the little space between them to become even smaller. The heat radiating from him seeped through her thin blouse, causing the hairs at the back of her neck to rise and a slight shiver run through her. Ever since the day they'd met, she'd always had a feeling about him. She wasn't sure what it was, and she wasn't planning on finding out. She was fully aware of the fact that he had a girlfriend, and even if he didn't she wasn't looking for a relationship of any kind. Especially not with someone she sensed would have the power to break through all her walls.

Steve could have sworn that he felt Grace shiver when he shifted in his seat. He wasn't really sure what to think of it, for all he knew she was just cold from the shave ice. When she sat down in the first place she'd moved a few inches away from him, not so much it would be noticed unless you were paying close to attention to her every move. Which he had been doing, for some reason.

"Ok, I'll be right there," Danny said into the phone before hanging up. Steve gave him a questioning look, wondering where he was going and why. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Grace isn't feeling well so I have to pick her up from school." He said as he got up. "Steve, can you manage to get back to the office on your own?" Steve just waved him of and told him to go get Grace from school.

As soon as Danny left the air seemed to thicken and it got really quiet. Not sure what to do or say to make it less uncomfortable, Steve moved a little to get a better view of Grace. It was the first time he'd really taken a close look at her up close. In addition to the beauty mark over her eyebrow, she had a small and very faint crescent moon shaped scar on her right cheek, a slight dimple on her left cheek and her eyes. Her eyes looked sad and tired but yet happy and electric. They were the most beautiful green eyes he'd ever seen in his life. Realising he was close to staring at her, he cleared his throat and gave her a small smile.

"Any exciting cases lately?" he asked, casually, wanting to ease the tension. "A guy washed up on the north shore last week. He had scars all over his body and even objects like flash drives and razor blades embedded under his skin." She said, causing Steve to raise an eyebrow in disbelief. "You're kidding right?" She couldn't help but laugh at his response and reaction. "I'm serious. The guy suffered from congenital analgesia or as it's more commonly known as congenital insensitivity to pain. It's a condition in which a person cannot feel and has never felt physical pain. He didn't even feel it when he was stabbed in the neck with a grappling hook." Shocked and slightly disturbed the picture that popped into his head, Steve couldn't help but to let out a small laugh.

As Steve laughed Grace felt something flutter in her stomach, but she ignored it and gave a smile in return. Remembering that Danny was Steve's ride and that he'd left to get his daughter she decided to offer him a ride. She ate what remained of her shave ice and got up. "You need a ride?" she asked softly, hoping he'd say yes. "That'd be great," he said, getting up and following her to her car. Expecting her to drive some sort of sedan, he was taken aback when he saw the car her keys unlocked. In front of him was a clearly customised, dark blue Ford Shelby Cobra. He'd never seen a car like that, let alone been this close to one. The only thing he could think of was how much it must have cost. As she got into the driver's seat, she asked if he was getting in or not. He quickly walked to the passenger side and got in.

The drive over to the palace was quiet. Not uncomfortably or awkward, just quiet. He'd wanted to ask her about the car a couple times, but stopped himself. He didn't want to seem like an ass for asking where she got the car, how much it cost and that she didn't seem like a muscle car type of girl. When she stopped the car right outside the entrance, Steve gave her a quick smile and wave before saying thanks for the ride and getting out.

"Hey, Commander!" she called after him through the open window. He turned around rather quickly, thinking he'd dropped something in the car. "Next time you see me at Wailana," she said, making Steve blush slightly. He'd never realised or thought that she'd seen him when they'd been at the coffee house at the same time. "Join me. Coffee tastes better when it's shared with someone else," she finished with a teasing smile before taking of.

A/N: I know the words shave ice have been mentioned like 10 times, don't judge.

Again I don't own anything except my character Grace Ó Máille, Tommy Hodgson and the Prescott Centre.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I might even post another one this week if things don't get to hectic.

XOXO
Hannah