Chapter 34: Case Closed.
Steve set the diary down when he had finished it, the last entry leaving enough to be imagined and more to be hoped for, but it never came, and he sat silently watching the gentle movement of the fish in his fish tank as he thought about his first meeting with Kat after so many years. He hadn't known he had his father's smile. He had seen her, but hadn't recognized the woman standing with Chin Ho, but he remembered her now and knew that she had sketched his character and his feelings correctly on that morning in the cemetery. He hadn't through about it, but Kat had seen it somewhere and knew that he had been somehow placed on the same path as his father to protect her. It was comforting to know that she recognized him, that she had wanted to know more about him because he had always wanted to know more about his father, and although he learned a little in the time that she had lived and spoke about John, he learned more about his father in the diary that he had just finished. He was proud to know of John's determination, his dedication to the job and Steve wanted to be like his father more than ever. Policing was his true calling, he would see the job through and learn what Danny, Chin and Kono had to teach him. It was now time to not look to the past, but experience the future.
Steve had been released from the hospital late the previous day and had hitched a ride home with Chin who had been taking their vigil at his bed side extremely seriously. Chin was the unlucky one to have relieved Kono of her watch and was present to witness the fight that pursued, with the doctor, before Steve was finally given the go ahead to go home. Steve had finally been able to spend a restful night at home and although he was still in pain from the surgery, it was nothing compared to finally having his independence back. The very next morning he wanted back into the swing of things and had ventured into the office, earlier than everyone, simply to avoid the fight that he would have when Danny found out he was already back behind his desk.
Steve started for a moment when the lights to the bullpen came on and the sound of footsteps echoed off the hardwood floor. His mind raced to his weapon, to who it could be and why they were so early. His door opened a crack and he almost reached for his weapon before he realized just who it was.
"Uncle Steve," Gracie cried as she spotted him behind the desk.
"Hey Gracie," Steve smiled as she ran around to him and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Why am I not surprised to see you there, with that diary no less?" Danny asked from the doorway.
"What are you doing here so early?" Steve asked with a smile.
"We've been taking care of your fish, so we came to feed them," Grace smiled and held up a see through plastic bag to him, "and we were hoping to make an addition to the tank before you got here, but now you are here so you can add it yourself."
"What is it?" Steve asked eyeing the brightly coloured and patterned fish in the bag.
"It's a Clown Trigger Fish," Grace stated happily, "His name is Steve," she smiled.
"Why did you let her name it Steve?" McGarrett asked eyeing his partner who chuckled in the corner.
"Her fish, her reasons," Danny stated.
"You really want to know why?" Grace asked her eyes sparkling gleefully.
"Yes," Steve said unable to resist the little girl and her charm.
"Well, the lady at the pet store said that even though the Clown Trigger Fish is very beautiful it is very aggressive and that it will pick on fish and coruscations that are smaller than it is, and you sometimes pick on Danno," Gracie stated.
"That's not the only reason she named it Steve," Danny stated a hint of embarrassment in his voice.
"Nope, it's also a Trigger Fish and you just got shot so it seemed logical," Grace smiled.
Steve laughed out loud, "that is very good logic. You know who else would have come up with that reasoning?" he asked.
"Danno," Gracie smiled, "I am his daughter."
"The apple never falls far from the tree," Steve said with a smile. "Should we get him into the water?" he asked and Gracie nodded her agreement.
Grace rushed to the corner of the office where the tank loomed, while Steve slowly stood from his place and walked to her side, with a slight limp.
"Why are you here Steven?" Danny asked again, his voice hushed.
"I needed to feel like I was doing something," Steve answered, "even though you guys have made so much headway."
"We've wrapped the Katherine case," Danny stated, "and now all our focus is on Wo Fat. We will catch him."
"I know you will and I want to be apart of it," Steve stated, "In whatever way I can. I know I'm a liability to the team at this point, but I can do all the paper work, or make phone calls, whatever it takes."
"Alright, but you have to promise me to take it easy," Danny stated, "and easy being in human terms, not Navy SEAL terms."
"I'm human," Steve laughed.
"I'm glad we got that cleared up," Danny said sarcastically.
"So what's new with the case?" Steve asked.
"We're not talking the case with my daughter here," Danny hissed.
"So Gracie, what else did the pet store lady tell you about my new 'Steve' fish?" Steve smiled and knelt down beside Grace before the tanks as he untied the top of the bag and placed it gently into the water to let the fish become acclimatized.
"She said that the Trigger fish are very curious fish and you'll probably be able to train it to eat right out of your hands, but you have to be careful because it has sharp teeth." Grace stated.
"Like piranhas?" Steve asked as he turned and looked at Danny.
"Not quite," Danny laughed.
"Danno told me about your piranhas. I'm glad you didn't keep them. They aren't pretty and kinda scary looking. We saw some at the pet store," Grace stated.
"I'm glad I didn't keep them either," Steve smiled as they watched the new fish swim out of the bag and into the tank. "There, he's in to stay now. He'll have to watch his back though with my 'Danno' Shark to give him a run for his money."
"Now you have your whole Ohana in the tank," Gracie smiled as she watched the fish as if she were hypnotized.
"Yes, I do," Steve smiled and struggled to get back up.
"Whoa, big fella, it may be a little early to be back on your feet," Danny stated as he stepped in and grabbed Steve by the bicep.
"I'm fine," Steve stated once he was balanced.
"Right, just peachy aren't you, Rambo," Danny laughed. "Go home, get some rest. We'll get to work on Monday."
"Ok," Steve sighed.
"We're going to the beach. You want to come along?" Grace asked as she took Danny's hand, ready to follow him out of the office.
"The beach, Danno hates the beach," Steve smiled.
"I don't hate the beach, who hates the beach, crazy people hate the beach!" Danny stated waving his free hands around, "are you coming or not?" he asked finally and watched the smile spread across Steve's face. "Kono and Chin are meeting us there, its Saturday after all and only crazy navy SEAL's work on Saturdays."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Steve smiled and followed his best friend out of the office.
End.
A/N: Well that's all. I hope you liked it. I will admit that I don't have any plans to writing a capturing of Wo Fat story. This plot and the characters are done with for now. I will be writing other five-o stories over the summer, but I am sure I am finally finished with this universe I dove into.