Thanks so much to julieb and praemonitus praemunitus for reading and offering suggestions for this chapter.
I hope you all enjoy the story! Happy Weekend!
Kono flew into the house, already laughing at something Steve must have said because he was giggling loudly behind her. She brushed past Danny, giving him a quick pat on the back and the biggest smile.
A bag slung over his shoulder, Steve stopped in front of his best friend. "Guess who's here, buddy?"
Danny pretended to be annoyed to cover how emotional he felt in that moment. "It better be Grace, or I'm gonna slug you, partner."
Then, he saw his little girl standing in the doorway, and Danny felt like he might puke again. Steve grabbed him to keep him from falling.
"I'm okay. I just need some fresh air." Danny straightened, pushing away from the overprotective SEAL.
Her big eyes filled with worry. "Danno? I'm sorry. Did I do something?"
"Oh no, baby, no..." He touched her hair with such gentleness like he thought she might break. Or vanish. "No, it's me."
Steve felt the need to lighten the situation. "Your Dad broke his streak."
Grace bit her lip to hide a smile. Her eyes darted from Danny to Steve.
Danny closed his eyes and sighed. Way to go, Uncle Steve.
Regaining himself, Danny took his daughter's hand in his own. "Let's go outside, Monkey."
/././
"I was so worried, Danno."
He nodded, trying to look at her without tearing up.
"I woke up and you weren't there."
She paused and took a long, shuddering breath.
Danny tried to coach her through this. He knew she needed to talk this out. "And then Uncle Steve came. You did the right thing by calling him. I'm so proud of you."
"I was so scared. I wanted to surprise you." She looked at the ground. "I was gonna jump on your bed. But you were gone."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear the bed jumping part." He wanted so badly to get a smile outta her, but it was an uphill battle. "I'm sorry I scared you. I'm just so sorry."
"Sorry?" She turned to face him. "Why are you sorry, Danno?"
"For leaving you."
Grace tilted her head and gave him a shy smile. "But you didn't have a choice. They took you."
He almost choked on her innocent reply. He cleared his throat to cover his reaction.
Closing his eyes, he nodded. "Yes, you're right. They did."
A family therapist they'd all seen back in Jersey during the divorce had warned him about sharing too much with Grace as well as holding back. Striking a balance was the key. He had to let her guide the conversation. It was tough though because Danny didn't want Grace to know about what he'd gone through with Doris.
"Danno, were you scared?"
"Yes, I was, babe."
"I missed you."
"I missed you, too, Gracie."
"I'm so glad you're back." She wrapped herself around him.
"Me too, Monkey. Me too."
Okay, he could do this. Maybe they could just go back to normal.
"I'm having so much fun with Auntie Kono. We watched a movie - and talked about boys."
"Boys, huh?" At the moment Danny didn't care if Grace started dating tomorrow. He'd just have to ride shotgun with Steve watching from the shadows ninja style. But if it made his little girl happy, he might give in just once.
"But don't worry. I know I can't date until I'm 37!"
"37? That sounds about right." He pretended he was thinking pretty hard on the subject. "Maybe you can hold off til you're 40? Give me time to prepare."
Grace giggled and Danny hugged her until his ribs hurt.
And then she threw him a curveball. With spikes.
She pushed away from her Dad and looked him straight in the eyes. "Did Doris hurt you?"
Danny coughed, doubling over just a bit. He was lightheaded for a few seconds. Then, he took a deep breath and considered his answer. That Jersey doc also said it was okay to take it slowly.
Today Danny just wasn't ready. He couldn't even process her question. So he decided to move this discussion at a glacial pace.
He smiled, touching her cheek and then letting his hand drift down so he could take her hand in his.
Another deep breath.
Grace didn't seem disturbed about his silence. She waited, watching him with those big eyes.
"Grace, it's complicated. I'm not ready to talk about that stuff. Okay?" He searched her eyes for an answer words could never give him. He saw a flash of understanding and then the impatience he knew came from him. "I promise I will answer your questions. Just not right now, okay?"
There was no hesitation. "Okay, Danno. It's alright. Uncle Steve said I could ask you if I wanted. But that you might not tell me."
Darn Uncle Steve. Now he really wanted to tell her just to prove Steve wrong.
First though, he had to talk to his partner about everything. Maybe then it would be easier to tell Grace.
"Uncle Steve is a smart guy, huh?" He gave her hand a squeeze. "In fact, I really need to talk to him. Do you know where he is?"
She pointed toward the house. "He's talking to his mom in the kitchen."
"Well, why don't you go and rescue him, Monkey? Give him a big hug."
"May I ask him for something to drink? I'm really thirsty."
"Sure, babe. What ever you want. As long as you share with me."
Grace giggled and took off for the house.
/././
"Doris - Mom - you have to leave."
Steve let the words sink in. She didn't seem fazed by them. She simply nodded.
"It doesn't have to be today. I just... After this morning..."
"You need some space. I understand. You're a grown man, Steven. You want some time alone with your team."
The way she said your team caught Steve's attention, but he didn't respond. She took his silence as her cue to keep talking.
"I'm sorry about this morning. I don't know what came over me. Danny...well, he gets on my nerves. I promise, I won't let it happen again." She grabbed the whistling tea kettle and filled her mug, motioning to her son. He declined her offer and she kept rambling. "I have a place I can go. Nearby. That way, if you change your mind... I'll be just a phone call away."
"First of all, it's about more than this morning. And change my mind? About what?"
"Oh...I don't know. Lots of things, Steven. The money. Danny. Whether or not you want your dear old mother around."
Grace bounded into the room. "Hey Uncle Steve!"
"Hey Gracie, how's it going?" He was so thankful for the interruption. "Do you need something?"
"Danno said you could get me a drink?"
"He did, huh?" Steve grabbed his surrogate niece and gave her a hug. Then, he opened the fridge and tossed her a bottle of water.
Doris observed the exchange from the table, looking as pleasant as a spring day.
"Hey Steve." Kono poked her head into the room. "Grace and I have to get going soon."
"Oh Auntie Kono, do we have to?"
"Yes we do. You can't miss practice. Remember?"
Grace nodded. If she missed practice, she couldn't compete with her squad. She couldn't let them down.
"Alright. Just let me say goodbye to Danno." She gave Steve another hug, pausing at the table, she added. "Goodbye Mrs. McGarrett."
The three adults watched Grace run out to her father.
"Danny's got quite the lovely little girl."
"She's not so little anymore, Mom."
Kono smiled, feeling proud of Grace. "She's gonna kick ass at the competition."
Steve shot Kono a look to zip it. Kono mouthed the word sorry, her face turning red. She hoped she hadn't shared too much.
"Competition, huh?" Doris licked her lips.
"Yea Mom." His tone told her to drop it, and she did.
"Well, I better go out there and hurry things along, or we'll be here all day." Kono gave them both a half hearted wave. "I'll be in touch, Steve."
"Roger that." Steve smiled. "Be safe."
/././
The sky was a brilliant blue. The kind that seemed to only follow a storm. The sun was hot, but the breeze was cool enough for him to sit there and think about his daughter. Her visit had been brief but it was enough to sustain him for a few more days. He hoped they'd have this thing figured out before too long. And he didn't want to inconvenience Kono any more than he had to. She was a godsend. And his daughter could not stop talking about how much she loved staying with her auntie.
And then she'd dropped the Doris bomb.
He didn't know what to tell her. If he should tell her. How did you tell your daughter that your best friend's mother was a CIA operative who specialized in creative interrogation methods? The bad kind. The ones dubbed enhanced interrogation techniques by government officials who thought they were fooling people.
Doris delighted in torturing people. She got off on pain. This fact was something his sweet little girl did not need to know.
No, Danny couldn't go there. He'd come up with something to tell Grace when the time was right. Until then, he wanted to make sure she was never alone with Steve's mother.
And speaking of the devil...
"Hello Daniel. Enjoying the day?"
He shivered in the hot sun. "Hello Doris."
"I'm so glad you're feeling better. After this morning." She sighed. "Isn't it nice that we finally have a chance to chat?"
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Well, that's not polite. I wonder what your parents would think. I know they taught you better than that."
He refused to play her game. He had to be strong. Danny focused straight ahead and kept his mouth shut.
"You know, there's one thing that's really been troubling me." Doris touched his shoulder. "I'm really curious about something."
He bit his tongue. No way was he falling for it...even though he was anxious to know where she was going with this. And then she sucker punched him.
"You told me to kill you, Danny. Remember? When we had our little business meeting?"
He looked down but didn't turn his head. Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath. He didn't want to go back there.
"Were you serious? Why did you do that?" Doris had that arrogant tone to her voice. She was coiling herself around him, getting ready to strangle him with his own words.
Danny twitched and fought the urge to pummel her into the ground.
"You were serious. Uh huh." She seemed pleased with herself. "I could see it in your eyes."
Neither of them was aware of Steve standing just out of sight. His jaw tense, eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and anger.
Danny didn't have an answer. Not even for himself. He'd pushed that moment so far out of his mind. He knew he had to do it – to survive. But he felt that feeling again. The one where he was just done. Where he knew he could just let go. And die.
"Didn't you want to come back to your sweet little girl?" Doris leaned in closer. "I played with her once, you know. Out on the beach. She needed help with a sand castle. What a sweet kid. So innocent. And growing up so fast. I bet she'll win first place at her competition."
Now he was pissed. But he didn't say anything. No way was he dragging Grace into this. He dug his fingernails into the chair.
"Face it. Your kid doesn't always come first. You just wanted to end the pain."
He clenched and unclenched his fist. He wasn't great with his left but it would do. His right pinky finger was still beyond fucked up. Thanks to the bitch standing in front of him.
"You didn't think about how Grace would feel. And my son, I know you love him too. He'd be lost without you. How could you do that to him?" She laughed and then sobered quickly. "Face it, Daniel. You were only thinking of yourself."
Steve dug his hands into his pockets and closed his eyes. He would not step in unless – well it was difficult not to step in.
That was it. Danny couldn't keep his mouth shut. "I swear Doris, don't bring my child into this. If you mention her again, I'll flatten you. And leave Steve out of it while you're at it. How dare you presume to know anything about our lives?"
And as soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to kick himself. He'd taken the bait. The look on Doris's face could only be described as gleeful.
"Oh, big words. Big threats. That's right. Steve told me you like big things."
Danny blinked and Doris was on the ground.
"Steve! Hey!" Danny dove on top of his best friend, throwing him away from Doris.
Steve snarled at his partner. "Get away from me, Danny. She had it coming."
"She's out cold, babe." Danny chuckled. "You knocked your mother out cold."
Fucking bitch. She had it coming, but...
"She's lucky that's all I did." He tried to push Danny off him again.
Danny held him there, clearly putting too much pressure on his sore leg. Didn't matter. He would not let Steve do something he would regret.
"That's right. That's why I'm here right now, holding you down."
"Get off me, D." The use of this particular nickname only came when Steve was angry. Danny held his ground.
"I will not let you do something you'll regret." He growled right by Steve's ear. "And how the hell did your mother get anywhere near Grace?"
Steve turned his head just a little. "What?"
"You heard her. She built a sandcastle with my daughter?"
"She's lying to you, man. It's what she does. You know that." He tried to shake Danny off of him. Almost worked this time. "She probably talked to Grace once years ago. Before all of this. If ever."
Danny shook his head. She had gotten to him. More than he'd like to admit. She knew his buttons. Everyone knew his biggest vulnerability. Grace.
"Ah babe, I'm sorry. Forgive me, you big oaf, huh?"
"Look who's the Neanderthal now, huh. And you're calling me an oaf?" Steve nudged Danny. "Could you get off me now?"
"Yea, sure." Danny slid backwards, exhaling loudly. "Christ, that hurt."
Steve sat up and reached for his best friend. "You okay? Is it your leg?"
"It's my whole life, babe. But yea, the leg hurts like a motherf-"
Doris stirred, hand touching her face before she even opened her eyes. She licked the blood from her lips.
"Nice shot, my son. I taught you well."
"You didn't teach me a god damn thing, Doris."
"You're wrong there. My death. Well, it was everything. It made you strong, hard."
"Yea, Doris. Well, maybe that's a problem. Ever think of that? If anything, you taught me how not to live my life."