Guardian
A/N: Now to see if Governor Denning's intervention made a difference.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them. I should also note that I have no beta on this story. All mistakes are entirely my own.
Chapter 26
Dianne Bradley seemed to deflate in front of them at the governor's words. A few moments ago, she'd presented the perfect picture of arrogance; now she appeared unsteady on her feet.
"Is she inside?" Denning asked. "I'd like to see how she's doing."
"We'll show you the way." Kono answered, pulling Chin and Catherine along with her. She suspected the remaining three could use some privacy to talk now that Dianne seemed beyond the point of making threats.
When the door closed behind them, Steve looked down at his partner before taking a cautious step forward. Placing a strong hand on the woman that looked strikingly like an older version of Rachel, the Seal kept his voice quiet but firm.
"He's right, you know. There is no way you are taking her from us, but that doesn't mean we want to keep you out of Grace's life. She needs all the family she has, but you have to accept that we make up a large part of that family."
Dianne looked up at him, surprised that the intimidating man had approached her. "I just thought…. Oh, I don't know what I thought. Rachel and I have barely been on speaking terms in recent years. Every time we spoke, it ended in a fight. I should have tried harder to fix things, but she was so stubborn, so much like me."
Danny stepped forward, as much as he'd always resented her attitude toward him, he could only image the pain she felt at losing her only child.
The Seal carefully guided her to sit in one of the chairs, before tugging another one around to face her. A second later, his partner pulled another chair next to his.
"Dianne, I know this is hard for you. It's too late to fix things with Rachel, but that doesn't mean it's too late to build a relationship with your granddaughter." The detective reached to clasp her hand.
"How can I do that when she's afraid of me?"
As furious as the men had been with her only a few moments before, they both felt for her. They were used to Rachel's self-centered behavior when reacting to a situation she didn't know how to handle and could recognize that same trait in her mother. All Dianne had paid attention to was her own pain, her own desire to fill the hole in her heart. Anger now subsiding, it was in their best interest to find a path forward.
"Mrs. Bradley, I don't think she is truly afraid of you. Your threat to take her away from us is likely what scared her most. After what happened, she is scared when she's not with us. While we're working to overcome that, it's going to take time." Steve took her free hand as he tried to make her feel a bit better.
"Aside from that, you have to remember that Grace's memories of you largely involved your arguments with Rachel. Especially right now, that is going to rattle her. I'm not sure how much you know about the details of Rachel's death, but she and Stan had been arguing frequently." He paused to let her process that bit of information. "If you truly want to be a part of her life, you're going to have to take the time to establish her trust."
She looked to the men, a single tear streaking down her face. "How am I supposed to do that when she won't get near me?"
"You spend as much time as you can while you're on the island here." Danny gestured to the house and beach. "This is Grace's home, the place she feels safest. Don't push, but let her see that you love her." He wasn't sure how well this rather icy woman would be able to show it, but he hoped for her sake and Grace's that she could.
Steve chimed in again. "If you want her trust, you're going to have to earn the trust of her ohana, her family. She trusts every single one of us and you'd be amazed at how well she can read each of us. You have an amazing granddaughter, I only hope you can bring yourself to appreciate her the way we do."
Dianne stared at her hands, both wrapped in the stronger, smoother hands of the men, vision blurred by tears. "What about when I leave? When I go back to England?"
"You should probably consider visiting more than once every two or three years, but outside of that we can set up a regular schedule for calls or video chats. That's what we've done with my parents since moving here. Grace talked to them every weekend and always knew she could call them any time she needed."
She looked up at the detective. "You'd really do that?"
He nodded. "Yes. While I will not ever allow you to take our daughter from us, I will also never stop her from getting to know her grandmother."
Dianne leaned back into the chair, gently removing her hands from theirs. She realized just how unreasonable she'd been, coming here expecting to take Grace away from Daniel. She knew her falling out with Rachel wasn't really his fault. She and her daughter were so much alike that they'd always clashed.
"I realize I have no right to ask, but in the few conversations I've had with my granddaughter, I know Steve's name came up almost as much as yours, Daniel. I also noticed that you refer to her as 'our daughter' instead of just your daughter."
Danny reached out and took his partner's free hand in his own. "If you're asking the nature of our relationship, Steven and I are partners both at work and at home. I hope that isn't an issue for you."
She smiled, somewhat sadly, and shook her head. "I suppose Rachel never told you about my brother, did she?"
Danny shook his head no, confused by where this was going.
"Henry was a few years younger than me. He was gay. I knew, but he was afraid to tell our parents; afraid they wouldn't love him the same. He tried to live a lie for years, but it caught up with him when Rachel was a teenager. My own brother took his life because he was afraid to let people know who he truly was. So, to answer your question, no it isn't an issue for me. I loved my brother dearly and wish that he'd been able to find someone to love him, to stand by him. Then maybe he would still be here." She wiped at the tears that streamed down her cheeks.
Danny leaned forward, placing a comforting hand on her knee. It bothered him that'd he'd actually learned more about her in the last several minutes than he'd ever known when married to Rachel. Dianne and Rachel never got passed the arguments while they were married on the few occasions they actually met to let him get to know his mother-in-law.
Collecting herself at last, Dianne looked up at the pair. "I botched my arrival pretty well, didn't I?" The expressions on their faces confirmed it. "Do you suppose we could start over? Maybe start by introducing me to all these people that are so fiercely attached to my granddaughter."
"I think that's an excellent idea." Danny rose and extended a hand to help her up. Ever since the call this morning, he'd been gearing up for a fight. It was a huge relief to know that this wasn't going to turn into a long, drawn out distraction from Grace's recovery.
/
Stepping inside the door, Denning turned to his escorts. "Well, I hope that worked."
"Me too." Kono agreed, eyeing the man beside her curiously. His arrival and display of support was unexpected.
Catching her look, Governor Denning paused before entering the kitchen. "I know I haven't always been easy on Five-0, but you've all earned my respect as people and as part of this task force. I've seen what this team is capable of and I've seen how close you are to each other."
The cousins both looked at him as if he was going crazy.
"I was serious out there. I both respect and trust this team. I'm just sorry it took a tragedy like this for me to make my opinion clear to you."
Sensing the conversation was quickly becoming uncomfortably serious, Chin clapped him on his back. "Better late than never, brah. Better late than never."
Shaking his head, the Hawaiian turned to the kitchen. "How you holdin' up Gracie?" He crossed to the stool where she sat drinking a glass of pink lemonade and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Is she going to try to take me away? I don't want to leave Danno and Daddy." Grace looked up at him, tears filling her eyes.
"I don't think so, Gracie." Before he could explain further, the governor grabbed a stool and pulled it up to sit next to her.
"I think it's going to be okay, Grace. Danny and Steve are talking to her now, but I think we made it pretty clear that you are staying with them." He reached over to take her small hand. "You guys have a lot of people in your corner and we'll all make sure you stay right where you belong."
The governor liked the sweet little girl that managed to make everyone smile. He hated the idea of her being hurt, but he also had to admit that he knew the task force would crumble if Danny and Steve left. He had no doubt that if Danny left to go be with Grace, Steve would follow.
Her small smile made everyone relax a bit. She already had enough to worry about without adding a fear of being taken from her family.
Sitting and chatting with the little girl for a few moments, Denning finally stood and walked back to Kono. "So, am I to assume that their partnership is more official now?" He leaned down to speak quietly.
Officer Kalakaua couldn't help laughing. "Yeah, it's a pretty new development, but it is." She finally met his eyes. "How'd you know anyway?"
"Those two have been at each other like an old married couple as long as I've known them. It seemed rather inevitable." He grinned broadly. "I'm happy for them."
"Us too. They deserve a chance at happiness."
Hearing the front door open, everyone immediately gravitated to stand around the island, a quiet show of support for the little girl.
McGarrett led the way into the room, Dianne and Danny following right behind him. Seeing his daughter's nervous expression, he smiled at her reassuringly.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Mrs. Bradley stepped out from behind the Seal. "I'd like to apologize for my behavior this afternoon. After talking to Daniel and Steven, I'd very much like to start over."
Her eyes looked from person to person, finally settling on Grace. Underscoring McGarrett's earlier words, she could see her granddaughter searching the faces of the two men behind her before turning to look at the people surrounding her. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, Grace nodded her head.
"In that case, I'd like to start by introducing myself. I'm Dianne Bradley, Rachel's mother and Grace's grandmother."
Beth stepped forward, though they knew each other already, she decided she would encourage the new direction the visit was taking. "It's lovely to see you again, Mrs. Bradley." She gave the other woman a quick hug.
"Please, call me Dianne." She smiled nervously at Danny's mother, wishing that she was as comfortable with this group as Beth appeared to be.
Not wanting to drag the introductions out, Danny stepped to Diane's side. "You'll have a chance to get to know everyone better while you're here, but let's start with the basics. You've already met Governor Denning. The lovely ladies next to Grace are her aunts, Kono Kalakaua and Catherine Rollins."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Dianne smiled at them.
"Behind them is Chin Ho Kelly, Grace's honorary uncle and Kono's actual cousin." The detective smirked at the other man.
"Nice to meet you as well, Mr. Kelly."
"Please, Mrs. Bradley. We are all family here. First names are fine." Chin corrected her.
"Thank you Chin. Please, all of you call me Dianne." She fought a yawn. After the confrontation and emotional conversation that followed, she was beginning to feel rather exhausted.
Steve glanced at the clock. Seeing it was only 3:30, he made a suggestion. "Dianne, why don't you go check into your hotel and take a short nap? We'll have dinner around seven, which gives you three and a half hours to get some rest and make it back here."
"Are you sure, I don't want to intrude." She asked politely, though the hope was clear in her voice.
"Of course, Grandma." Grace beat him to the response. "Daddy's grilling chicken tonight and Grandma Williams promised to make tiramisu for dessert." The little girl slipped off the stool where she'd remained and approached the woman.
"A nap sounds divine right now, but I'll make sure I'm back for dinner." She hugged her granddaughter before letting Danny and Grace escort her to the car.
As they left, Steve turned to Governor Denning, extending a hand to him. "Thank you, sir. I believe you just saved us a tremendous amount of stress."
Denning shook his hand firmly, meeting his task force leader's eyes. "It was my pleasure. As I was telling your team earlier, I've been remiss in expressing my respect and appreciation for you all."
Steve was glad to see the tides had truly turned with his boss. "Thank you."
/
A/N: Reviews are greatly appreciated.