To New Beginnings
Fandom: Hawaii Five-O
Ship: Ranno Characters (also mentioned): Danny Williams, Rachel Hollander, Grace Williams, Charlie Williams, Steve McGarrett, Stan Edwards, Five-O members.
Chapter nine

Big Time lapse on this
Just some context in relation to time frames.
The episode where Amanda Savage came to town was shown 28th Feb 2019.
The episode where Danny met Joanna was shown in March 2020
So this is over a year later.. I may go back at some time, and do little bits and pieces from the previous year.

July 2020
It seemed that for a long period of time Danny and Rachel seemed to be getting on well and going from strength to strength and then all of a sudden, things seemed to hit a bit of a stalemate. There was a time period where they had a trial separation as their issues seemed to be drowning them both and it was during this time that they both attempted at dating other people.

Though Danny hadn't actively been looking for anyone, he had been at a bar one morning drawing his sorrows and it was this time that Danny had met another woman Joanna LaPietra.. It was a very brief encounter as they had been involved in an accident and sadly Johanna had passed away.. The weight of the knowledge that he was behind the wheel and guilt of that lead Danny to question a lot of things including his relationship with his ex wife.

It was why he decided to try to reconcile with Rachel and make things work with her, not just for his kids sake but for his own.. He recalled the way that he had felt when he was with Johanna and the magic of that first meeting and decided that he needed to add some of that magic that he and Rachel had lost over the years.

It had been their old arguments and insecurities seemed to seep in and for Danny, he was worried that they were seeping into their old patterns and so once he had begun to truly move on from the death of Joanna, he decided that he wanted to take Rachel away for the weekend and see if they could reconcile and finally get it right for once in their life. Though he had enjoyed his day with Joanna, he still did love Rachel, that would never change at all, and even that day he still had slight reservations as well.

Stan had been more attentive towards the kids, though at short notice hadn't been able come over to Hawaii to be with the kids for the weekend, however luckily Danny had many people in his life whom wanted to step up and take care of the kids while they were away. Grace was old enough to stay on her own now, however she knew that Charlie still had reservations about staying away from home sometimes so she offered to spend the weekend with him at Steve and Catherine's plus she always enjoyed being around the two of them as well.

As he was packing, Rachel had walked into the bedroom, her dress flowing in the breeze from the open bedroom window. Grace was picking Charlie up from school and coming home so they could pack and then heading to Uncle Steve's for the weekend, Rachel having come from dropping him off at school.

"I've just dropped Charlie off at school, and Grace is going to pick him up this afternoon", she spoke in greeting to him, feeling a little nervous at the thought of Grace driving since her accident. Though she had been back behind the wheel for a while, it still made Rachel a little more than nervous especially considering that Danny had recently had an accident as well which wasn't his fault.

Stopping what he was doing as he could sense the nerves in her voice, he walked over to her and reached out, squeezing her arms lightly, "They will be fine Rachel.. HPD gave Grace defensive driving lessons since her accident, and I'm sure with her little brother in the car, she will be even more careful than usual", he could understand her fears though as he also worried about her driving as well. She nodded and sighed softly, leaning into him and letting him hold her.. "I know but I just know the feeling of being helpless when Grace was in the hospital before.. I don't wish to feel that again and with both our children".

He could understand what she was feeling as he was feeling it himself.. "I hear you Rach, I know what you are feeling becauseI feel it too, but we need to let her get back out there and get her confidence back as well. She was rattled to drive for months and it was only once Steve and I took her to the HPD defensive driving school where she gained a bit of confidence back. We need to show her we trust her with her little brother and it's just from school to here and then to Steve's, and I have a feeling that Steve and Catherine have a big weekend plan for the kids.. They are looking forward to it and so are Steve and Catherine, plus between you and I.. I need to get the two of them clucky for a little one themselves".

Rachel chucked softly for a moment, she knew that Danny had been pestering Steve for a niece or nephew for a long time now and it briefly took her mind off her own children. She smiled and nodded her head, sighing softly. "Catherine and Steve would be amazing parents, I know they are wonderful with our two, and I'd like to see them settled down and happy after all they have been through and done for this country".

Being more organised than Danny, Rachel had already packed the evening before but she sat on the bed and helped fold some clothes into the bag he was taking. They hadn't really discussed the whole Danny meeting another woman and then her being killed in an accident yet and while she didn't want to mention it now, it felt like one of those big elephants in the room moments that needed to be addressed.

"Daniel", she began looking over at him as she picked up a shirt and folded it, sighing a little hesitantly as their eyes met, his gaze indicating she should keep going, "You know I'm here if you want to talk about…", she shrugged her shoulders awkwardly as she trailed off.

He sighed softly… He loved Rachel, he truly did but he just had been feeling a moment of weakness that day, and Joanna had been in the right place at the wrong time. He felt mesmerised by her energy and got swept up in it all.. He had never had a one night or in this instance a one day stand with a woman but afterwards when he was in the midst of grief and feeling guilty, he also felt bad, like he had cheated on Rachel even though they were taking a break.

Coming over and sitting beside her on the bed, he put his arm around her shoulder and gazed into her eyes.. "I'm so sorry Rach", she took his hand and squeezed it gently, "You don't have to apologise for anything Danny, we were on a break and you met someone that you felt comfortable enough with to see if you wanted to take it further.. Believe it or not Danny, all I have ever wanted is for you and our children to be happy, even if it means I am not with you".

Smiling softly, he sighed and took a break.. "I know and that is why I love you Rachel, you would be willing to put m happiness above your own.. I just feel so guilty.. I can't stop thinking about it.. and going back and thinking was there a way I could have changed the outcome, would she still be alive and with her family right now?"

Shaking her head, she sighed softly.. Since Catherine came back, her and Rachel were closer and had told Rachel about this on one of their coffee outings, how he was blaming himself and feeling guilty over the accident, "Danny, you can't blame yourself for this.. It wasn't your fault.. It was the other driver who was looking at his phone and didn't see you till it was too late and from what Catherine has told me, you did everything you could to save her.. please don't do this.. don't make this your unfinished business.. I know you and Steve are both like that, you both want to overthink and overanalyse everything, but this will weigh you down too much".

Moving her hand to his cheek, she turned his head to face her, "I'm sure she didn't blame you, in fact.. you gave her hope that there were still gentlemen in this world.. You didn't have to drive her home and yet you went out of your way to do that… but you don't want to carry this weight with you Danny, I promise you that you don't". He was crying openly now and using her fingers, she wiped his tears away and pulled him closer, his arms wrapping around her body..

Though he and Steve were different in the emotions department, Danny was more openly emotional, she had still never seen him get this way with anyone except her, and as he held her close, he kept whispering how sorry he was, Rachel rubbing his back in circular motions "It's okay Danny.. Shhhh". They sat there for another ten minutes or so comforting him, and making sure he was okay, she knew he hadn't let himself cry yet and that was another reason she wanted to talk it through.. He was a man that needed to cry to let his emotions out, and he didn't usually like anyone except Rachel to see his tears.

Sitting up a little, he took Rachel's hand in his and smiled sadly.. Even though they had their issues, he loved her and he knew she loved him.. "Thanks, I needed that". She just nodded her head and squeezed his own hand, "I know.. Are you ready to head out?"

He had just about finished his packing, and he stood up, wiped his face and checked over his bag, making sure to put his phone charger in his bag and his tablet as well. He knew the kids especially Charlie would want to still talk to his Momma and Dadda while they were away. "I'm all packed". He waited till Rachel was standing up and walked to her, resting his hands on her cheeks and kissing her softly, Rachel kissing back, feeling surprised but not unhappy at it.

"What was that for?", she asked with a grin as he pulled away, "For being you.. now let's get going before I found out what Steve and Catherine have planned for our children this weekend, I think I wanna be far away when I hear about it", he picked up the bags and heard Rachel laugh as she picked up her handbag off the bed, she adored Steve and Cath, they were both lovely people and she knew and she knew Danny knew as well that they wouldn't do anything with their kids that would put them in any danger at all.

Steve was a good surrogate Uncle, Rachel was an only child and Matthew was an amazing Uncle to her when he was alive, and though he had been on the run for many years before he was killed, he always sent a postcard and money or a gift to Grace for her birthday and Christmas, but Steve was always the one there for her, even the times when Danny was in hospital or unwell and Rachel was in Las Vegas with Stan, he would always pick her up and let her stay with him.. He would be a good father one day.

She knew she had to step up her game.. She loved Danny and she knew she had to do better or else another Joanna could come into his life and sweep him off his feet.. As much as she wanted him to be happy, she still didn't like the idea of it being with another woman, but she would not cause a fuss if it did happen, but since the accident, he had been getting closer to her again, and this was really the first time they had discussed the issue.. She couldn't be mad at him, and she knew it just meant she had to do better or she would lose him for good this time..

"Coming babe?", he asked from the front door, and she smiled nodding her head as she turned the bedroom light off, "I'm coming Danny", feeling excited about this weekend at the thought of reconnecting and reigniting the flame between them..

Author's Notes
Thank you everyone for all the love and support I get on this stories, it makes it so much more enjoyable for me knowing you all love what I do and are waiting for me to do the next chapters. I'll just go into a bit if detail here.. I realised that I didn't want to drag this out too much more, so the scene with the mother in law etc was in Feb 19, whereas the scene with Joanna was March 2020. I decided to head back into the year 2020 for this so that we can see them moving on a bit quicker, and I wanted to address the Joanna and Danny bit with Rachel as well. I might go back and do some little jumps here and there addressing their relationship at different times in 2019 but for now I wanted to speed it up, and have them reconnect. I'm gonna say this scene takes place in July 2020, and that Steve and Catherine are home so really they were only away from home for about 3 or four months.

SteveMcGarrettLover
Awe thank you so much for your review, I appreciate you so much. I hope you like what I have done with this one, in making it progress a little quicker.. I don't want him to be too upset for too long in my story as he deserves to be happy. I can't see what happens next for them and how their trip turns out as well.. I might also write a chapter from Steve/Cath/Grace and Charlie's POV and what they get up to while Danny and Rachel are away.