Fluffy Hair and Nosy Bosses

Disclaimer: I claim a love of tiny chocolate bars, but not ownership of these two shows.
A/N: First off, I apologize for not actually writing a hug into the previous chapter, maybe one'll make its way into another chapter. Secondly, thanks so much for the love for that chapter! I wasn't sure if you would be okay with me deviating so far from the humour that forms the base of this story, but it felt really good to write it. So thanks CMT1992, Crawcolady, LisaG16, NCISRookie88, TMVH50, Sweet Lu, Ohyesidid, HayNSW2711, Mei2, storyfan101, emceejay, loveRnB, ncisloverinnc, Josette1807, shestarsky, cargumentluv, anonkp, sunny irish, MoonKittyru and guest m for all your reviews!

Now onto this special Halloween edition...

Boo-Ya!

A muffled sniff sounded behind him and Danny turned from staring out the window to look at his forlorn daughter slouched on the couch.

"I don't know what to tell you monkey, the rain's not letting up."

She sniffed again and in a small voice she said "I know...I miss trick-or-treating in Jersey."

Danny almost sniffed himself. He missed it as much as she did. He'd walk her around their neighbourhood, where everyone knew each other and their family, and watch her struggle up the steps, because she was independent, to the doors. Certain homes had a little something (in the liquid form) for the parents too. It always felt like Halloween – there was a chill in the air and the dead and dying leaves would rustle in the wind lending a spooky feel to the night. All costumes were built around having long pants and possibly a coat underneath. The shopkeepers would open up their doors and some would decorate. The deli became a cave and the bakery would become a graveyard.

Not so on this pineapple-infested island. Here they hung their skeletons from palm trees and costumes required no additional room for additional warmth. They had strange candy and the people who lived around them didn't know that Danny's grandmother made the best strawberry preserves in three counties. But he was committed to making it work.

"I miss it too. I can drive you around if you'd like."

She tried for a smile and nodded. Danny grabbed his coat and they headed for the car. The storm was causing havoc on the road as the storm drains backed up. Danny did manage to get some giggles when he hit one particularly large puddle and the water rushed at the undercarriage and washed over the top of the car. Storms were the free way to wash cars – rain for the top and puddles for the bottom.

Chin's house was the closest and Danny was able to pull the car close to the door and together they ran up the walkway. Hiding under the roof overhang, they knocked on the door. And then knocked again. When there was no answer, Danny shrugged his shoulders and led Grace back to the car.

Catherine's house gave the same result. They ran through the rain and knocked on the door to find no one home. They swung by Max's house and Kamekona's shrimp truck. Their last stop was Steve's house. Danny pulled the car up to the porch and they ran up to the door. The doorbell was rung, but no one answered.

Dejected, Grace leaned against the doorframe and her shoulders drooped. Danny dropped down to a knee to be eye-to-eye with his daughter. He opened his mouth to try and comfort her but his phone chimed at him, signalling an incoming text. He grabbed the distraction and opened the message.

Come to the office STAT

The text was from Steve and of course it didn't contain enough information. He tapped out a response.

Trying to trick-or-treat with Grace.

Steve's reply came fast.

Bring her along. Case blew up.

Deciding that the night couldn't get any worse, he loaded Grace back into the car and drove over to the precinct. They had been chasing a murder suspect that had been eluding them for the last two days. It was someone that was a high priority to get off the streets. Grace slouched in the passenger seat; thankfully she understood the urgency of his job as a police officer, but the broken tradition was bumming her out. He carried her across the parking lot quickly to avoid the puddles and the pelting rain. Safely inside they worked their way up to the office. The lights were dim and it was hard to see what was going on inside.

Deeks handed his neighbour her bag of extra candy and pulled the door of her apartment closed. He waited until he heard the lock click and then he loped over to his door. He unlocked it, kicked it shut and grabbed his phone off of the table. Dialing Danny with one hand left the other one free to unwrap a candy with the other. He crunched down on it while listening to the phone ring.

"Hey." Danny sounded distracted when he answered the call.

"I just dropped Ms. Edna off, we almost handed out all the candy out in front of our building. How's Grace's haul coming along?" Deeks shoved the candy into his cheek so he could talk.

"Not good, it's pouring rain here and Steve just called me into the office."

"So she hasn't got any?" He was already in motion, dashing out of his door and running over to Ms. Edna's door.

"Nope."

"Put her on." He knocked on the door and waved at the peephole because he'd convinced her to always check it before opening the door. He listened to Danny passing over the phone. Once the door was opened he slipped through it and mouthed 'play along'.

"Hi Marty." Grace sounded both happy to talk to him and gloomy at the prospect of no trick-or-treating.

He put it on speakerphone and said "What's that? I'm sorry, that's not how you great someone on Halloween."

"It's raining here." She sniffed a bit.

Ms. Edna pursed her lips. "It's not raining here and I have a bowl of candy to hand out."

She giggled, "Trick or treat."

"A little more enthusiasm please, this bowl is quite full." Ms. Edna winked at Deeks.

"Trick or treat!" She laughed.

"It'll be in the mail tomorrow." Deeks high-fived Ms. Edna. "Now tell your dad to send me a picture of you in your costume." They heard the phone get handed back and Danny instructing her where to stand. Deeks could picture Danny leaning back, holding out the phone, and snapping the picture. He waited until the message flashed across the screen. He opened it and together they smiled at Grace mugging it up for the camera. She was wearing a set of scrubs, with HPDME logo peeking out from behind a lab coat covering it all. She had on foot tucked behind the other and her head was tipped to the side as she held up the end of the stethoscope. A wide smile was spread across her face as she waved with the other hand. "Doctor, nice costume."

Danny's voice, with an edge of humour came across the line. "Yep, hopefully she'll wear them for real one day. We should go and find out what Steve's worked up about."

Deeks ended the call and looked at Ms. Edna. "Can I have the rest of that candy?"

She looked down in the bowl. "Oh no. This isn't enough. We'll have to buy some more." They shared a grin.

Danny wrapped an arm around his daughter and led her the rest of the way to the office doors. He pushed through the door to find the lights off. He felt like grumbling about Steve but an otherworldly screech put that out of his mind. He felt Grace latch onto his waist and jumped with her when a figure leapt out in front of them.

"BOO!"

Grace let out a shriek. "Uncle Steve! Don't do that!"

There was a pause followed by "How'd you know it was me?"

Danny could hear the accompanying rolling of the eyes in her sigh. "You're the most logical."

"Alright, well, Chin! Hit the lights!" He sounded a bit dejected, but still called back behind him.

The lights revealed a spooky version of the office. There were fake spider webs hanging down, some of the lights had been repositioned or covered to give shadows creep up the walls, and someone had gotten a hold of a fog machine that was filling the floor with smoke. In the centre of it all was a table loaded with candy.

Chin walked over wearing a construction uniform complete with a helmet. "Welcome to 5-0's spooktacular. In a few minutes the doors will open and we hope you and some of your friends can enjoy some indoor trick-or-treating."

A smile split her face. "Can I call them?"

"Go ahead."

She ran off with her phone leaving Danny with Construction Chin and...Steve. "What is this?" Danny waved at Steve's outfit.

"It's my camo."

"It doesn't count as a costume if you wear it for work."

"I put on the grease paint. I only wear that out in the field."

"My point exactly."

"Well then, what's your costume? I see you're not wearing one." Steve smirked.

"Ah, wait for it." Danny pulled off his coat to reveal a short-sleeved shirt on which he buttoned up the last buttons and tightened his tie. In his pocket was a protector full of pens. He held up his finger and popped on a pair of thick black of glasses with a taped centre.

"You're a...guy with glasses?" Steve cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't be deliberately dense. I'm dressed as a nerd."

"Ha! It doesn't count as a costume if you already are."

"Chin, inform him that I'm not speaking to him for the length of the night." Danny turned and walked away.

"Promise?" Steve called at his retreating back.

Grace dragged herself to the couch after a hard school soccer tournament. She sighed and rubbed her sore knee. Danny dropped her bag at the door and followed her to the couch.

"I know it was hard to lose the last game, but maybe this will help." Danny passed over a box that he'd picked up that morning. It was postmarked LA, so he knew what was in it.

She noticed the same marking and she pushed herself upright. A scissor supplied by her dad quickly opened the box and she squealed when she found the pile of candy in the box. "This is awesome! First Uncle Steve and Chin's party – which we're all still talking about – and now this!" She looked up at Danny. "I know it wasn't a Jersey Halloween, but this was a pretty good one."

He kissed the top of her head while he stole a candy bar. "Good to hear it."

A/N: And now we return to our regularly scheduled hiatus.