I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: ;-)

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O

Grace was practically out of the car before her grandfather had even parked at the convenience mart. Based on the large holiday sign out front, the store was due to close within the hour, but that wasn't really the problem. Not even close to being the real problem.

"I'll get a cart and run over to the dairy section," Grace called out over her shoulder, feeling miserable and angry all rolled up into one. Her grandfather not only drove like molasses, he walked like he was taking a stroll in some countrified English park. He was too slow and time was ticking by too fast! There'd be no way that she'd make it back on time to meet her father at her mother's house. All hell was going to break loose and Grace just couldn't get her heart out of her mouth. She was aching for a nice Christmas and not something like this. Not another mountain of stress over yet another holiday gone wrong between her parents; something that she often felt responsible for. This time though, and Grace found herself clenching her fists around the metal bar of the shopping cart she'd grabbed, what was happening was entirely her mother's fault.

Her mother ... and the Navy for taking her Uncle Steve away at the very worst possible time.

"Come on, Grandpa!" She stage-whispered when she glanced back and saw that he was just barely coming through the automatic doors while she was halfway through the produce aisle. He smiled at her and pointed to the small floral section, loitering as if already distracted and Grace had to bite her lip to keep from hollering more loudly.

"They're pretty," her grandfather called back calmly as if they had all the time in the world. He also didn't care about how loud he was and Grace cringed when people turned to look at them. "Maybe we should get a bouquet for your mother?"

Instead of replying, Grace shook her head vigorously. Frustrated with her grandfather and growing more upset with every passing second by what she felt she was being forced to do, Grace decided to speed off to the dairy section for old Mrs. Morrissey's things. Cream and store-bought eggnog; plus a dozen eggs and even two types of cheeses. This wasn't a few urgent things, it was an all out shopping list and Grace groaned as she realized half the dairy section had been virtually cleaned out prior to the holiday.

What was she supposed to do if half the things weren't even in stock? And if they weren't ... and if Grace had no other choices ... then she was going to blow a gasket because this entire trip had been for nothing!

"This is it?" Grace asked the lone clerk. The boy was about her age and he smiled winningly at her, but Grace had no time to flirt.

"Pretty much," he said. "We got cleaned out and there's no sense in restocking since we're closing up early. We won't see another delivery until the weekend. Maybe."

"Great," she muttered under her breath while quickly choosing what she could for Mrs. Morrissey. There wasn't much left at all, but she managed to at least find some promising substitutions.

"Cheese ... brie? Blue cheese? Where?" She asked next, feeling the need to apologize when the clerk looked disappointed. "Sorry ... I'm in a hurry."

"Yeah, okay," he said. He frowned, clearly discouraged when Grace began to fidget and show no interest at all in talking. "Over there ... but ..."

Before he could even finish what he wanted to say, Grace took off towards where he'd pointed only to also find the international cheese display woefully lacking. At a loss, she picked out what looked good to her, promising to apologize to the older woman should she be upset. Even Grace wasn't too happy with spreadable cheese in a small plastic tub, but what else could she do? Something had to be better than nothing and Grace tossed one, then two small tubs into the bottom of the cart. It was never so true that beggars couldn't be choosers. Mrs. Morrissey had no rights at all to be disappointed with anything Grace managed to bring to her so late on such an important holiday!

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Grace realized that she was alone. Her grandfather wasn't in sight. At all.

"Grandpa?" She called out, hoping he was at least nearby. But he wasn't; he'd never caught up with her and she wanted to scream as she raced back through the produce section, bypassing other people who were hurriedly trying to find last minute things like her, only to see that he was still by the small floral section. In fact, he was holding a large holiday-like bouquet and chatting up the florist behind the counter!

"No, no no! What are you doing?" Grace gasped breathlessly when she reached his side. "Why are you still here? I thought you'd get what mom wanted! We have to go ... we don't have any more time!"

"Don't you think these very beautiful flowers would be perfect for your mother?" Her grandfather replied. He was calm, smiling and his eyes even dared to twinkle as he thrust the bouquet under her nose. "After all, you are going to owe her an apology for your behavior."

"An apology!? Me? For what?" Grace nearly shouted as she forgot her manners entirely. "What did I do?!" What was her grandfather talking about? Apologize? Grace had no intention of ever apologizing to her mother for ruining Christmas Day. Danno was upset enough over her grandparents' visit during the holiday, the change in visitation and then ... Uncle Steve. Losing him right before the holiday to what was likely a very serious mission in Korea, had truly sent her father over an edge. He hadn't heard from her Uncle Steve in almost three weeks time and she'd never seen Danno so sad or so quiet. Charlie missed Uncle Steve, and she did too.

"For your behavior. At home," her grandfather replied as if Grace might have lost her mind. Which she was on the verge of as he kept smiling at her.

"No, no way!" She blurted out. What was he thinking? Everything had been going wrong. And now ... this? Shopping on Christmas Day at a stupid grocery store for some old lady and being expected to apologize to her mother - who had caused it all - on top of everything else? Grace glared at her grandfather, not about to budge an inch.

"Flowers? Why!? She's ruining Christmas and ..." Grace refused to touch the flowers by folding her arms across her chest, surprised with herself when she felt the tell-tale watery sting of tears in her eyes. No, she wasn't going to cry. But her stomach was starting to feel funny and Grace just didn't know what to do anymore.

"Everything's wrong," Grace whispered. She tried to rub the tears away and failed as her throat started to close. Thinking about her Uncle Steve and how devastated her father was, was just too much. With a loud sniffle and willing her lips not to tremble more than they already were, Grace shook her head. Her voice was shaking though as she tried to say just those words to her grandfather.

"... it's just all wrong! Everything is just all messed up. Even Charlie ... the only thing Charlie asked Santa for Christmas was to bring Uncle Steve home! And that? That would be freaking miracle!"

"I guess there is a Santa Claus then, right?" A new voice announced brightly from just behind her left shoulder. There was a soft chuckle and Grace's eyes widened. "Or maybe, Christmas miracles just do happen. Sometimes."

Grace stared at her grandfather, anything else she might have said suddenly frozen inside her brain. It couldn't be - she was only hearing things. She made a confused sound, her eyes welling up even more when her grandfather nodded at her, his face suddenly blurred by her tears.

But no ... it just couldn't be.

"And as far as messed up? Nah. But I do think you're going to have to apologize. I agree with your grandfather, it's got to be these flowers." This very familiar but entirely unexpected voice sent an almost painful trill of tingles clear through to her fingertips and this time, Grace felt her tears start to roll down her cheeks. She couldn't breathe right. She was still petrified to look though; she'd be heartsick if she'd heard wrong.

"Gracie?" Grace's mouth opened as two strong hands settled on her shoulders to physically turn her around. She looked up as she stumbled over her own feet, seeing nothing but a blur of whites, grays and blacks, sure that some horrible trick was being played until her eyes settled on his face.

Impossible as it was ... he was real.

"Uncle ... S-steve?" She barely got his name out. She was so afraid she'd be wrong, but he was there. If not for his hands on her shoulders, she might have continued to doubt herself, too. Looking tired and worn and needing a shave, her Uncle Steve was right there in front of her though. Dressed in a plain black tee-shirt and dress camo-pants, wearing of course, military issue boots, he smiled as Grace wavered in place.

"What?" Grace mouthed breathlessly, still afraid to move, afraid to breathe even as he warmly cupped her face between his hands. "Uncle Steve?"

"Merry Christmas, Gracie," Steve said, beaming from ear to ear while bending down to kiss her forehead. "God, I missed you. How's my best girl, huh?"

"Uncle ... Steve?" Grace's tears welled large as she stared up into his face in disbelief. One tear hovered on her lashes until it spilled over to roll down her cheek. "Uncle Steve?" She didn't know what to do until she found herself automatically reaching out to him. "Uncle Steve ..."

"Is that all you can say?" Steve laughed softly as she wrapped her arms around his waist, her face buried in his chest. Tears now coming hot and fast. "Shhh ... wow. Tears, Gracie?"

Nodding, Grace began to cry harder even as Steve pulled her in closer, one hand cupped behind her head and the other, warm and strong as it traced soothing circles over her back.

"You're home? For good?" She whispered brokenly, choking the words out as she vainly tried to get herself under control. She soaked him in as she tried to talk and breathe through her tears, feeling the tight ball in her stomach start to unravel as he carded his fingers through her hair over and over again. "You're really, really home? Does Danno know ...?"

"Danny? Not yet ... you're first ... well, really third to know after your mom and grandfather, but we have to move. And I need your help because I want to surprise him ... and Charlie. Are you in because we don't have much time," Steve explained quickly. "I just got here ... literally ... and I needed your mom's help at the last minute because she'd be the last one your father would expect to be involved in this crazy idea of mine."

"Oh God, mom. And ... Charlie! He's going to be so excited when he sees you!" Grace paused for a moment, leaning back in her uncle's arms. "Uncle Steve, he wrote to Santa and everything about you. He's going to be so surprised!" Craning her head so she could see her Uncle's face, she still couldn't get her tears to stop but at least her brain was trying to kick back in. This had all been setup ... which meant ... what had he just said.

"Mom?! Mom knew," Grace murmured incredulously. "She made this whole thing up? All of it - the argument at home? Coming here? Including the Mrs. Morrissey thing - it's all made up?"

"It's all made up," her grandfather confirmed happily. He was grinning and practically bouncing in his shoes, pleased that they'd managed to get this far with the last minute plans. "Your mom wanted you out of the house ... and ...without tipping her hand to your baby brother. So this is part of the surprise - you here with your Uncle Steve? This is all part of a very grand plan."

"But Danno is still going to be so mad," Grace laughed through her tears. "He's going to be all over mom when I'm not there ... and ... wow, he's going to be so mad, Uncle Steve! We have to get home quick ..."

"Ah, we're not going back to your mom's house." Steve cocked his head before happily shrugging off Grace's shocked gasp. "Oh, Danno's going to be really mad and your mom is a trooper for taking him on for me. So Grace, I think your mom is going to deserve these flowers from us, don't you think? At least these?"

Grace slowly nodded in agreement as she clung to her Uncle, her fingers wrapped around his forearms as happy tears continued to run down her cheeks. "What are we going to do?" She asked.

"So Gracie," Steve asked with a devilish glint to his eye. He paused to gently swipe the moisture from her face, grinning the entire time. "We've got a lot to do in a very short window of time ... Junior Reigns. Remember him? He got my truck for me off the base and then picked me up from the airport ..."

Grace nodded again, she more knew Junior's name than him, exactly. But it didn't matter because her Uncle was home and Grace was hanging on his every word, her excitement growing as he hurriedly explained what he was planning to do next.

"... so now, Jun's got my truck round back trying to find some clean, empty boxes. Big ones. Then we're all going back to my house. On the way though ... you are going to have to make a very special phone call. A call that's going to hopefully calm Danno down a bit, get him back to the house, and bail your mother out of the boat-load of trouble she's probably in ... all at the same time."

"Oh yeah ... I can do that! Whatever ... I can ... I'm in!" Grace replied quickly as she hugged Steve around the waist, afraid to let him go. She had no idea what he was really talking about, but she was definitely up to the challenge.

"That's my girl," Steve whispered as he kissed the top of her head. "Shall we?" He took the time to gently thumb away what was left of her tears and Grace started to laugh. It was a lot to digest and she was sure that she was missing so much of her uncle's story. But it didn't matter. Not really.

Airports, trucks and boxes? Her Uncle Steve ... home ... and in a convenience store? None of it made sense but she trusted that in the end, it would. No matter what or when everything came together though, two things were always going to be very very true.

First, that Danno was going to be furious until he found out why ... but secondly and most importantly, this was going to be the best Christmas ever!

H5O* H5O

Rachel took a deep breath, tucked a few stray bits of hair behind an ear, and then opened her front door. The smile on her face was as genuine as she could manage considering what she knew would probably be happening next.

"Danny. Happy Christmas," Rachel said, making every attempt to keep smiling and act as normally as she could while coming face to face with her ex-husband. A man who looked rumpled, tired and who was evidently attempting to smile as much as she was; though Danny's reasons about such a sad attempt were entirely different from hers.

"Merry Christmas," Danny replied succinctly, almost as if he'd practiced the words. With his hands shoved deeply in his pockets, he offered nothing else and Rachel wavered for just an instant. He could barely smile and was dressed in normal street clothes. There was no holiday cheer about the man and Christmas had always been Danny's favorite of seasons. Now more than ever, Rachel understood her daughter's protectiveness.

"Come on in," she said, determined to keep smiling while moving aside for Danny to enter the house. Things were going to be all right. But, her fingers were crossed once more as she said a silent prayer to get her through the sham. To manage for all their sakes because Steve's surprise for Danny and Charlie would be well-worth every painful word soon to come. After? Danny would understand and everything would be forgiven; she just had to help get them all get to that point. Screwing her courage together because by this time tomorrow, everything would be more than right in the world, Rachel made sure she stayed smiling as she closed the front door. She also made sure that Danny at least saw Grace's and Charlie's week-ender bags. And next to those, two holiday shopping bags filled to bursting with both wrapped and unwrapped packages.

"What's all this?" Danny asked, pointing to the bags first. "Your parents? It's too much ... Rachel." He sighed as if overwhelmed, a frown barely tucked away before she could really see it.

"No, though there might be one for you in there from mom. You know how she is, Danny. But Grace went shopping and she bought a few gifts ... for you ... and ... and for Steve. Then Charlie, he's excited about a new toy but he wants your help to put it together later. The toy is in one of the bags, so it looks like a lot."

"Okay," Danny answered hollowly, sounding completely unconvinced. He sighed, looking more morose and tired than before and Rachel stopped to really look at him. He'd barely shaved to boot and she could almost swear his shirt wasn't buttoned correctly.

"Are you all right?" Rachel asked. "You look ... exhausted."

"I'm fine," Danny replied. He rubbed his hand through his hair and shrugged. "Haven't slept too well ... but I'm fine. It's good."

"Have you heard from Steve?" She dared to ask because she would ask at any other time. "Any word on when he might be coming home?" Even if she might be poking a bear, Rachel knew she had to ask. This was a normal enough question and it would have been expected of her.

"No. Nothing ... but maybe by the weekend," he said, lips a tight, thin line. "They don't tell us anything, you know?" Danny's face stayed amazingly passive and his voice incredibly steady, but Rachel could see the tension through the tightness of his shoulders and the ongoing fatigue in his eyes. He'd been worrying himself silly for nearly three weeks and now, he was running on fumes, his usual brightness completely missing.

"Where are your parents; the kids?" Danny asked as he shoved his hands back into his pockets.

"My mother's taking a nap. Bad migraine," Rachel said. She wandered to the kitchen where the territory seemed safer, knowing he'd follow along. It was certainly easier to stick with the truth for the moment too, and Rachel continued her friendly ramble.

"Charlie's just had a quick bath ... he got into the Christmas stockings when I wasn't looking ..."

"Chocolate?" Danny sniffed back a dry chuckle. "I can imagine."

"It was everywhere; even in his hair! He's in his room, insisting on picking out something to wear," Rachel explained with a casual air. "He's got to do that part by himself!"

"He does," Danny concurred. His pause then was telling and Rachel tensed as he heaved in a loud breath of air and pushed it out through his teeth while looking around the kitchen with a critical eye. "Rachel? What aren't you telling me? Where's Grace?"

"Oh, well ... Grace ...," Rachel lifted her eyebrows in what she hoped looked comical. Her heart pounded in her chest though because she'd no idea how he'd figured out she was hiding something. Maybe it was as simple as the house itself. It was too darn quiet; Rachel hadn't even kept the TV on or put holiday music to play softly in the background. It was so quiet, you could literally hear a pin drop. With a five year old and a temperamental teenager on an exciting Christmas Day, this was completely out of the ordinary. Swallowing hard and transitioning as smoothly as she could into her fabricated story, Rachel continued to smile even if her lips were starting to feel numb.

"Old Mrs. Morrissey needed a few things and Grace ... she and dad ran out to the store. They should be back any minute."

"I'm sorry. What?" Danny asked quietly, his voice as cold as ice. "Who? Grace isn't here?"

Rachel cleared her throat because swallowing again simply wasn't going to happen without a coughing fit. She was horrified as she watched Danny not only run his hands roughly through his hair, but then drag them both down his face. It made his already tired eyes look liquid, misty. But not as if he might cry, as if he was gearing up to ... or trying really hard not to ... scream at her. Heartbroken by what he must be thinking, Rachel wracked her brain trying to remember what Steve had told her on the phone.

There was going to be a timed phone call; timed to when Steve thought Danny would be at the house. But Rachel's brain went as numb as her lips. Was he going to call and tell her what to say or do? Or, was ... her dad ... or Grace going to call to help defuse things? No matter which scenario it was, Rachel hoped that it would be sooner rather than later because, as Danny's face hardened, her original sense of purpose was quickly fading away.

"Danny ...," she tried to find her voice and stopped instantly when Danny held his hand up in front of her face.

"No. Are you telling me that my eldest child ... isn't here right now, Rachel?" Danny's voice was just above that of a whisper, the tone now approaching dangerous waters. "That ... she's not here ... on Christmas Day?"

"Mrs. Morrissey," Rachel repeated carefully. Her lips twitched ridiculously as she did her level best to keep smiling and play it all off as if it were nothing at all even though Danny was beginning to stare at her in the most disturbing of ways. Her ramble became a stuttered mess of syllables and sound as she fought to keep the plot going. "Around the corner here? Mrs. Morrissey is so old ... and she was really in a bind. Her family. They're here and she needed a few things from the convenience mart. Grace ... and dad? They ran out ... just ... but, they'll be back any minute - barring traffic."

"And you said yes?" Danny shook his head in disbelief, his hands free of his pockets but now balled into fists. He wasn't only angry, he was irate. "You've got to be kidding me."

If looks could have killed, Rachel would have fallen dead flat out on the floor right then and there. She opened her mouth, clueless as to how to proceed and praying for some sort of intervention - anything - when Charlie came bursting into the kitchen.

"Danno!" Bare feet thudding across the tiled floor, hair combed but already mussed out of place, shirt on backwards, he flung himself around his father's legs. "Hi Danno!"

"Hey buddy!" With an incredible ease, Rachel watched in awe as Danny's entire demeanor changed on the fly. He didn't even look all that tired anymore. With Charlie his focus, Danny was already smiling and bending down to swing his son up into his arms. The changes in him were so startling that Rachel was left reeling and not just a tiny bit ... jealous.

"Hey there, buddy! I heard you got into the chocolate stash, huh?" Danny said as he finger-combed Charlie's damp hair off his forehead. He bounced the little boy gently in his arms. "So tell me. Santa was good to you this year? No coal ... nothing like that?"

"Uh huh," Charlie said, blue eyes like saucers as he loosely linked his arms around his father's neck. "Real good!"

"That's great and I can't wait to see what you got ... but I hear that Santa came to my place too," Danny said. "I think there might be some more presents under my tree for you and your sister. Can you believe that?"

If Charlie's eyes were big before, Rachel had to grin at how large they became at Danno's exciting news. It didn't matter how angry her ex-husband was with her; if she could get through the next few minutes and get them on their way to stage two of this grand plan of Steve's, the loop would close in a nice, tidy pretty holiday bow.

Caught up as she watched Danny with Charlie, Rachel startled badly as her phone rang. 'Thank God,' she thought to herself. She fumbled for the device, thrilled for the timing of the call, but aware that Danny was watching ... and listening. Again.

"Dad?" Rachel asked as she answered the call. Her voice sounded thin to her own ear; even louder than it should be. Her heart was back to thudding too and she could swear that beads of sweat were collecting at the base of her throat. As they got to this final step, no matter her private pep talks, her nerves were unraveling and she wasn't sure how to forge on. But this was the final step and it just had to all come together. She had to get her focus back.

"Dad?" She asked again when there was a delay. "Hello?"

'No, mom it's me.' Grace's voice finally greeted her and Rachel rediscovered her smile with her daughter's next very quiet words. 'I'm ... sorry. Really ...and things are great. Just so, so great!'

"I know and that's just ... wonderful," Rachel murmured, relishing some of this early success and using it to bolster up her flagging courage as Danny loomed nearby. "I know... okay, yes, I know ...," she repeated as she glanced up to bravely catch Danny's eye.

"But Grace? Your father's here ... where are you, two? Are you on your way back?"

'Ready mom? I bet he's mad, right?' Grace said. Her voice had fallen to a conspiratorial whisper topped off with a soft giggle. 'Put me on speaker and just ... just don't say anything, okay? Uncle Steve told me what to do. It'll be all right. I promise; we both promise.'

"She wants to talk to both of us," Rachel explained to Danny as she thumbed the speaker feature on the cell phone. "Grace? Go ahead now ... you're on speaker."

"Grace? Where are you? When are you going to get back?" Danny interrupted. His tone was clipped and he was struggling to control his temper, the way he was gently rocking and bouncing Charlie in his arms were the only other clues to his level of stress. It was as if he needed to hold his son in order to keep himself in check and Rachel didn't doubt the truth of that.

'Dad!" Grace's voice was cheery over and overly loud, not a hint showing of her own prior anger and Rachel felt a surge of pride ... and hope.

'Well, that's the thing. Grand-dad got all turned around and we're so close to your house ... to Uncle Steve's ... that to save time, I told him just to drop me off. We're almost there. So, can you just grab my things and come over now? It will save so much time and grandpa doesn't mind at all ...'

'No! No I don't mind at all!' Rachel's father was heard in the background, his tone just as happy.

'So so sorry for this debacle Daniel ... traffic was bad and I got a bit lost ... but Grace tells me we're close and after, I'll run these goodies over to your neighbor, Rachel. I bet that's all just fine.'

"Danny?" Rachel whispered hopefully, begging for his approval when he didn't say a word. "Is that okay?" Her fingers were once more wedged behind her back and crossed so tightly, she swore they were creaking. She couldn't read his expression; not at all. It was almost as if he didn't quite trust things and that would be bad in so many ways. Rachel floundered helplessly as Danny seemed to dwell too long on the situation and what was starting to feel like a badly contrived and very fake ... story.

'Dad?' Grace called out when there was no response at all to what what she or her grandfather had offered as a solution. 'Dad? Mom? You guys there?' Grace asked again. 'This makes sense, right? Right? Hello!?'

The ongoing silence was deafening as Rachel and Danny just stared at each other, neither moving. At least Danny didn't look as angry, but he certainly wasn't happy either. Nothing that Grace had said had eked even the tiniest of smiles out of him. Feeling awkward and not knowing what to do, Rachel felt the need to at least let her daughter know that they could hear her.

"We're here, Grace ... just ... hold on a minute," Rachel said before softly prompting Danny one last time. "I'm so sorry, but is this all right? If they're closer to the house than here, it does seem like the better option. Doesn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. Fine, ..." Danny finally replied as he let Charlie slide back down to the floor. "Sure. Why not." With one hand anchored to the top of Charlie's head, Danny wearily rubbed his other over his face before tossing it helplessly into the air.

The gesture was sad and tugged hard at Rachel's heart because they'd really not given Danny any choice at all. While they all truly had the best intentions in mind, the ruse was very simply ... hurtful and Rachel felt the need to apologize again. Even reassuring herself that by tomorrow, this would all be water on the bridge, wasn't good enough for her at that moment.

"Danny, I'm sorry. Really," Rachel whispered as softly as she could, just for his ears alone. But Danny was already turning away from her, his final words meant for his daughter.

"I'll leave now with Charlie; Grace, I'll bring your things and ... I'll be home in a few minutes."

~ to be continued ~