As Danny drove to Rachel's, his mind was a blur.
His brother was dead and it was his fault.
His partner was battling addiction and physical injuries brought on because of his dedication to HIM, which prompted Steve to go off alone to save HIS brother.
He needed to keep his head clear. First things first, he had to take care of Matty. He had to get his brother home and he had to take care of his parent and sisters. He had to take care of Rachel, Gracie and Charlie. And he couldn't forget Steve. His partner was still struggling, he was weak and he was depressed. He had gotten Steve to this point and he couldn't let him slip back now. He knew he was going to have to rely on Chin and Kono more, at least until Matty was home…and buried.
He dialed Chin, "Danny? Are you okay brah? Where are you?"
"Chin…..I'm on my way to Rachel's. We have to tell Gracie what happened. Catherine is with Steve"
"Okay man. What do you need me to do?"
"Chin….I need you to watch over Steve for me"
"Danny, we've got Steve. You don't worry about him okay. Kono and I are here for both of you brother. I just picked Kono up and we're on our way back to his place now. I talked to Steve and I'll take him to your place to get your things together. We'll see you about three thirty"
"Good, thank you Chin"
"Of course brah, don't worry about him and you call me if you need anything"
Danny's voice choked with emotion as he responded, "Okay…..will do"
Kono looked at Chin, "Is he okay?"
"Danny's worried about Steve and Steve's worried about Danny…we need to stay strong for them Kono"
"We'll take care of them Chin, both of them. And we'll find out who did this"
"Yes we will cous'"
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The detective's arrived at the McGarrett home to find Steve and Catherine in the living room with his bags.
Kono asked, "How are you doing?"
"I'm ready, bags are packed"
"Steve, how are you feeling?"
He smiled at his two friends, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. It's time to take care of Danny"
Picking up his bags, he kissed Kono's cheek as he passed her exiting the house with Chin following him.
Catherine looked at young Asian woman, "Kono, he's okay. I'm watching him closely"
"His depression Cath…"
"Kono there are things we can't control. None of us expected this and all we can do now is be there for both of them. I know this might sound bad….but worrying about Danny may actually help Steve's recovery"
Kono added, "Yes, I suppose it will keep his mind off his own problems, won't it"
Catherine embraced her, "Come on, we've got a lot to do"
The men were closing the back of the truck as they walked outside. Steve called out, "Are we all locked up Cath?"
Handing him his jacket she responded, "Yes dear"
Steve looked at Kono, "Cath has to go pack her things while Chin and I go to Danny's. Would you mind stopping by the office and getting everything together that we're going to need?"
"Sure thing boss"
Steve answered back, "Thanks, we'll pick you both up about three and then we'll get Danny. Hey, everybody…..thank you"
Catherine reached up and kissed him, "See you in a little bit"
They all took off in their separate directions to prepare for their departure.
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Danny entered Rachel's house calling out "Gracie are you here?"
He heard her bedroom door slam shut and the little girl came bounding down the stairs screeching, "DANNO, DANNO! What are you doing here?"
Seconds later she was in his arms. He held her tightly and moments later she said, "Oh Danno, you're squeezing too tight!"
He loosened his grip and looked into her eyes, "I'm sorry baby"
She placed her fingers on his face, "You look sad Daddy"
Rachel had come in from the kitchen and was standing next to him. She kissed his cheek and said softly, "Let's go into the living room"
They sat on the couch with Gracie sitting on Danny's lap. He inquired, "Where's Charlie?"
"He's sleeping"
Gracie then asked, "Is Uncle Steve okay Danno?"
"Yes Monkey, Uncle Steve is fine"
"Can I go visit him?"
"You'll see him soon baby. Gracie….do you remember the reason why Uncle Matty had to go away and hide?"
"Uh…..huh….because bad guys wanted to hurt him"
"That's right"
The little girl added, "And Uncle Steve went to help him because the bad guys found him and then they hurt both Uncle Matty and Uncle Steve but Uncle Steve got all the bad guys"
"Yes he did Monkey…... but more bad guys came that we didn't know about. Today the officers were taking Matty from the hospital to the airport. They were going to fly him to a new hiding place, but he bad guys found them"
"Is Uncle Matty okay Daddy?"
Tears welled in his eyes as he said emotionally, "No Gracie…..Uncle Matty is dead"
Gracie didn't say anything, she simply flung her tiny arms around his neck, nestling her head into his shoulder. Rachel moved from the couch and came over to embrace them both. They heard the child's soft sobs and Danny's neck was dampened with her tears. They sat like this for a long time as they all cried for Matthew.
Eventually Gracie sat up in her Daddy's lap, saying "I loved Uncle Matty Daddy"
"I know baby, we all did"
"Danno…..I thought you and Uncle Steve always get the bad guys?"
"We always try to Gracie. Do you remember I told you that these bad guys had a lot of drugs right?"
"Yes…I remember, and they put drugs into Uncle Steve's body making him sick"
"That's right. I'm going to try to explain this to you baby and if you get confused ask me questions okay?"
"Okay"
"Bad guys who mess with drugs are with groups that are called cartels. These cartels can have ten bad guys, twenty bad guys or sometimes many more"
"Like a hundred?"
"Yes, sometimes. Because of this the good guys, me and Steve, Chin and Kono and all the other officers out there, try our best to get all the bad guys but sometimes we can't get them all at once. Do you understand?"
"Yes"
Rachel was now kneeling in front of them. With one hand holding Danny's she stroked her daughter's arm with her other hand.
She spoke gently, "Gracie, Daddy is going to catch a plane in a couple of hours to fly to where Matty is. You, Charlie and I are going to leave in a couple of days to fly to New Jersey. We'll stay with Grandma and Grandpa Williams"
The little girl sat upright and in a panicked voice she stated, "Are the bad guys still there Danno?"
"Hey, hey baby girl…..look at me" Danny placed his hands on his daughter's face, "You know that Daddy's job is dangerous. But you also know that I'm really, really careful and I'm really, really good at what I do right?"
She whimpered, "Yes"
"And you know that Auntie Kono and Uncle Chin are really good cops and then we've got SuperSEAL watching out for all of us!"
The little girl smiled as she responded quietly, "Yes….I know Daddy…but I'm scared"
"I know Monkey, but you shouldn't be. We can't live being scared all the time. We have to believe that God will watch over us"
"But why did God let Matty die?"
Rachel answered, "We can't answer that…..we just have to trust him. We have to be thankful for the time we had Matthew and we have to believe that Matthew is now in heaven"
Danny kissed Gracie's forehead, "I love you Monkey"
"I love you too Daddy….I love you Mommy"
They chatted for almost an hour, answering Gracie's questions as honestly as they could. It broke Danny's heart to watch his daughter loose her innocence. No child should have to learn of the depravities of man at such a young age. He was a cop though, he had made that choice and he honestly couldn't even imagine doing anything else.
He couldn't help it as his mind drifted to Steve's words spoken just yesterday, 'Joe told me that's why he had never had children. The thought of dying didn't scare him, but the thought of leaving behind a wife and children terrified him. Children needed their fathers'
He had told Steve how wrong he was to believe those words, but now looking at his daughter and seeing the pain, fear and confusion in the little girl's eyes he wasn't so sure. How selfish was he to put his career and desires in front of the security and well-being of his daughter….and now possibly his son? He had a lot to think about but for now he had to take care of getting Matty home and buried…then he had to find the animals who took his life….there was no other option for him regarding this.
Once Gracie was calm enough Rachel and Danny went upstairs to check on Charlie.
They stood in the entryway of the toddlers bedroom watching him sleep.
Rachel looked at the man she loved, "Danny, you handled that very well"
"God Rach, she shouldn't have to know these things" His voice cracked with raw emotion and she pulled him into an embrace.
She felt his body shake in her arms as he cried softly. She spoke softly into his ear, "It's okay baby, I'm here for you"
Moments later they parted and he said, "I called Dad back so just left him know when your flight's due in. I haven't told him about us yet Rach...but I will"
She smiled "Okay, I'll call him"
Danny pulled a credit card from his billfold, "Use this for the tickets and your expenses"
"Alright, thank you"
They heard Gracie call from the bottom of the stairs, "Danno! Uncle Steve is here!"
Minutes later the entire Ohana was in Rachel's driveway sharing hug and kisses.
As the team was getting into the cars Danny scooped Gracie into his arms for a final hug. "You help Mommy with Charlie and I'll see you at Grandma and Grandpa's okay?"
"I will Danno…..I love you"
"I love you too Monkey"
With a final kiss for his baby girl, Danny jumped into Steve's truck and the 5-0 family took off towards the airport.
******* MUCH MORE TO COME *******
