A/N: This one is kind of in response to last night's episode, "Mana'o," but probably not in the way you would expect. Oh, and because I believe in shameless self-promotion, go check out my new multi-chaptered fic, The Other McGarrett. If you like the ideas in the summary, you'll probably like the fic. Enjoy!


Grace rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of her room and into the sunshiny living room of her father's apartment. Her father was still snoring on the pull out bed. She quietly climbed up and whispered, "Daddy, wake up."

"Five more minutes, Monkey," he replied drowsily, waving her off.

Grace sighed and shook her head. Her dad certainly did love to sleep. She quietly crawled off the bed and considered what to do next. She smiled and picked up her dolphin trainer Annie doll. She had to come up with a new place to hide her. Under the bed was getting a little old. She spied a stool in the kitchen and grinned.

She pushed the stool up to the counter as quietly as she could. She climbed up and stood on the counter before pulling herself on top of the refrigerator. She looked down before deciding that was a bad idea. She quickly stuffed Annie into the cabinet and climbed back down. It would take him forever to find her there.

She went back to her room, which was the only bedroom in the apartment, and pulled on her bathing suit. She then tied a wrap around her waist—her dad wouldn't let her out of the apartment in just her bathing suit—and pulled her hair into two ponytails. She slipped into her flip-flops and grabbed her surfboard and stood it up next to the front door. Her father was still snoring on his pull out bed.

She bounced up next to him and opened one of his eyelids. "Daddy, we're going to be late!"

"Huh? What?" Danny asked, sitting bolt upright.

"We're going to be late for my surfing lesson," Grace informed her father.

"Oh, jeez, sweetie, I'm sorry," he told her, throwing off the covers. "Just give me a minute to get cleaned up."

Through the bathroom door he called out, "Hey, Grace, make sure you have your stuff together. Your mom's probably going to want to pick you up right after your lesson."

"Okay," Grace said, going back to her room to gather her things.


Danny found it extremely hard to watch Grace surf. Though he'd engaged in some fairly dangerous activities in his youth, it was hard to watch his daughter attempt things comparably life-threatening. His only comfort was that Kono had actually taught Grace how to fall down before she taught her how to stand up.

He just started to relax a little when he heard the familiar tones of Psycho emanating from his pocket.


Kono quirked an eyebrow when she heard Psycho playing behind her. She kept her eyes focused on Grace as she listened to Danny's voice become louder and more strident. Evidently, Rachel was calling. Her heart lifted as she watched Grace pop up to her feet. She almost immediately felt her stomach clench as the little girl fell off her board a few seconds later. She glanced back as she jogged into the surf and was glad to find Danny was still distracted. He hated watching Grace fall.

Grace popped up with her board just as Kono reached her. "I fell down again," Grace sighed.

"Yeah, but you stood up, which is the hardest part," Kono told her. "You're doing great, Gracie, but I get the feeling our lesson is about to be cut short."

"Oh," she said simply as her father approached.

"Hey, Grace, that was your mom. She, uh, she wants to pick you up at the beach because it's more on her way, or whatever, so did you get all your stuff together like I asked?" Danny said, clearly exasperated and still holding his phone.

"Um…yes," Grace replied, looking at her sandy feet.

"What's with the um?"

"Well, I couldn't find Annie this morning."

"Why didn't you say something this morning?"

"I thought we would have time to look for her later," Grace said without meeting her father's dubious gaze.

Danny sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he squatted down to Grace's level. "Okay, I have to go back to the apartment to get your backpack. I will find Annie while I'm there. I promise."

Grace smiled slightly and nodded. Danny kissed her on the forehead and stood up, pulling Kono aside a couple of feet. "Would you mind taking her for some shave ice, or something?" Danny asked, reaching into his pockets for some cash.

"Keep your money," she told him quietly. "Waiola is just up the way. Kamekona'll take care of us."

"Of course he will," Danny said, rolling his eyes. "I gotta go."


"Alright, ladies, got two large cones for yous," Kamekona said as he set a grape and a cherry cone down in front of them. He looked sideways at Grace and said, "You know, I think you too pretty to be dat haole's little girl."

"Thank you…I think," Grace replied nervously.

"Thanks, uncle," Kono laughed as the other man smiled and walked away. She looked at the little girl sitting next to her and said, "I know he looks intimidating, but he's really just an oversized teddy bear."

Grace smiled and nodded. After the girl just picked at her shave ice for a couple of minutes, Kono said, "Something wrong, Gracie?"

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course."

"I didn't actually lose my doll, Annie."

"Oh?"

"I hid her like I do every time I go to Daddy's house."

"Why do you hide her?"

"So we can look for her, and I don't have to leave so fast," Grace answered sheepishly.

"Oh, sweetie," Kono said, wrapping her arms around the little girl's shoulders. "You know Danno loves you, right?"

Grace nodded.

"Well, as long as you know that, your daddy will always be with you, no matter how much time you actually get to spend with him."

Grace hugged Kono tighter in response.

"Hey, I hate to break up this bonding moment, but look what I found," Danny said as he sat down next to his daughter holding up a blonde doll in a bathing suit.

"Annie!" Grace exclaimed.

She reached for it and Danny pulled it away at the last moment. "You wanna know where I found her?"

"Where?" Grace asked, glancing at Kono.

"In the cabinet above the refrigerator," Danny replied. "Now, how do you think Annie the Dolphin Trainer got all the way up there?"

"Uh…"

"Maybe she likes to climb things," Kono suggested. "You know, like Grace."

Danny smiled at her sideways and shook his head. A car horn sounded and he turned to see a black sedan waiting on the street.

"Okay, Monkey, looks like you gotta go," he said, helping her put on her backpack. "Remember; Danno loves you."

"I know," she said, nodding. "Love you, too."

He watched as she picked up her surfboard and got into the black sedan.

"You know, it's a little disturbing that her board fits inside that car," Kono said as the vehicle pulled away.

Danny chuckled his agreement as he pulled Grace's uneaten cone over to himself. He took a large bite and said, "Did Grace tell you she hid Annie in the cabinet?"

Kono was only shocked for a split second before she said, "Yes. Did you know she's been hiding Annie every time she comes over?"

"I've suspected, though I have to say hiding her in a kitchen cabinet kind of gives the whole thing away. I have to remember to teach her how to be more sneaky," Danny said before taking another large bite out of the cone.

"You're gonna get a brain freeze."

"Sweetheart, I'm from New Jersey. You don't even know what a brain freeze is."

Kono groaned dramatically and rolled her eyes. As she thought about her conversation with Grace, however, her face became more serious. She slid across the bench so she was sitting right next to him and said, "Danny, why don't you fight Rachel for more time with Grace?"

"Because I can't hire a legion of scum-sucking attorneys," he replied quickly.

"You know, I have several cousins that are really good lawyers."

Danny looked over at her, his forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What-what brought all this on?"

"Nothing."

"No, not nothing. Spill."

"It's just," Kono began, sighing deeply, "Grace told me she hides the doll so she can spend a little more time with you. And if a little girl wants to spend time with her father so badly, she should be able to. Screw whatever some lawyer says is best!"

Danny flashed a bright smile and wrapped a hand around one of hers. "You know, I love your gung ho attitude, but, if I'm honest with myself, I really couldn't have Grace more than I already do," he told her soberly. "With this job, Steve could be calling me at any moment. I've already had to drop Grace off at her mom's on more than one occasion because of it. I can't promise to spend more time with her and then look at my little girl's face when I have to disappoint her."

"I guess I understand that," Kono said, looking down at their joined hands.

"Hey," Danny said, lifting up her chin so her eyes met his, "thank you."

"For what?"

"Right now? Just for being you," he said before kissing the side of her face and slowly releasing her hand. "You should eat your ice before it's just grape juice."