Comfort
Chapter 7
Grace looked into her mother's eyes, scared. Her Danno was hurt and she knew he was hurt bad. She could tell by looking at her mom's face. Mommy would get mad at Danno sometimes, but he had explained that they weren't mad at her, that sometimes mommy and daddy fought and that no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't stay together. She liked that Danno never talked down to her and most of all that he always wanted to spend time with her. She had friends at school whose dads were too busy to spend time with them, but not her Danno.
Danno loved her.
It had scared her when they had moved away. She remembered crying in her room, thinking that she'd never see him again. Hawaii seemed SO far away from where Danno lived and there was so much water. She knew that Danno didn't like water and didn't think he could swim to her, but then he moved there too. He told her that no matter what he would be there for her, that there was nothing he wouldn't do to be with her. She stopped crying because she knew that whatever Danno said, he made come true.
She loved her Danno.
He also told her that he was a policeman and that policemen caught bad guys so that they wouldn't hurt good people. He said that he liked his job and that it was an even better job than other policemen get to do because he got to protect her too. It made her smile to know that. He also told her that the job was dangerous and that he might get hurt sometimes, but he let her know that he would always be careful and that if he did get hurt, it was because he couldn't help it. He told her to never worry about him.
But she did worry sometimes. He was her Danno.
Like when the big storm hit, the tsunami, he had to leave her to help find someone important and though she had fun with Kamekona, especially beating him and his friends at five card draw, she thought about her Danno and wondered if he was okay, but he would call to check up on her and let her know he was okay.
"I love you, Monkey."
"I love you too."
Now, as she listened to Steve and her mommy talk about her Danno, she was scared again. She felt like she did when they had moved away and she thought that she would never see him again, all those thoughts about him never being Santa Claus at Christmas or just him hugging her for no good reason than that he loved her. It all came back. It must have shown on her face because Steve, Danno's new friend and partner, bent down to talk to her. She liked Steve. Danno complained a lot about him, at first, but later, he would tell her that Steve was like him, that he was there to help people and that he would protect her too. He said that she could trust him because he trusted him so when Steve bent down to talk to her, she was still scared, but she knew that Danno would want her to feel safe with Steve and she did.
"Gracie, your dad, he got hurt very badly today helping me, Kono, and Chin. The doctors are helping him now and I know they are doing their best to make him feel better, okay? But I want you to know that your dad is the best partner I've ever had and that he's strong because he loves you so much so don't worry."
Grace couldn't help, but think of Danno because that's what he would say so she knew that Steve must really like him to talk like him.
"Okay, Steve," she said then hugged him.
Steve was startled at first, but her trust in him made him feel comforted and he hugged her back fully. It didn't surprise him that Danny was a good father. It was in everything he did as a cop, but Grace was his finest work. Though he knew that Rachel was a good mother and Danny had even admitted that the only thing they were good at was at being parents, Steve saw so much of who Danny was in his little girl. He had showed her how much he loved her by simply being there for her and Steve was determined that Grace would feel no less safe and loved with him.
TBC
