A/N: And again this bunch does not know how to follow a plan. At least this time they did actually take a step in the right direction before getting sidetracked.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them.
Chapter 67
Wiping at her eyes, Dianne tried to pull herself together. It was still a little over an hour before she needed to head to the airport, but the atmosphere in the house had already begun to shift. Coming to Hawaii on this trip, she never thought leaving would be quite so hard.
"Focus on the positive. You will be back in about 3 months for Christmas. You will be spending your holiday on a nice warm beach while your friends in England are bundled up in the snow." Steve hugged her tight.
"This is why I cannot let you take me to the airport. If you or Daniel or Grace are there I will end up falling apart again. I need to spend the ride pulling myself together if I am going to make it to the plane."
Steve and Danny both glared at this statement. Family did not take hired cars to and from the airport. Family was escorted to and from by at least one other member of said family. There were no exceptions to this.
Before Dianne could argue, Chin, Cath, and Kono strolled through the door. They had stayed scarce following the picnic to let Dianne spend her last day and morning without a big audience, but they wanted to say goodbye. They also were expecting a conversation much like this to happen.
"Mind if I suggest an alternative?" Chin stepped forward. His teammates' eyes begged him to have a good one. "How about I take her?"
"That is very sweet, but you do not need to waste …" Kono's hand covered Ms. Bradley's mouth before she could finish.
"I am going to suggest you forget whatever words were going to finish that statement if you know what is good for you." The petite Hawaiian gave Dianne a look that pleaded with her not to push that button.
"Too late." Danny was already gearing up for a rant. "Have you listened to a single thing that has been said here in the last few days? Look carefully at each and every person standing in this room. Do any of us look like taking the time to make sure you arrive safely at the airport in the company of someone you know is somehow an unwelcome burden? I have no clue what it was like the last time you came, but things are different now. Believe me when I say a round trip to the Honolulu airport is a walk in the park compared to some of the lengths we have gone to making sure that this family comes and goes in one piece." With a final huff, Danny stood with hands braced on his hips, daring her to argue about the ride to the airport.
"But I already called the car." Dianne admitted sheepishly.
"And I already canceled it." Chin laughed.
"What?" She wheeled around to look at him, even as the rest of the room started laughing.
"Call it intuition. Half the people in this family," he threw a pointed look at his boss, "spend a fair bit of timing convinced they are putting the rest of us out. We have learned to predict this cases with relative accuracy and counteract the stupidity."
"Well, I suppose that settles my transportation to the airport." She conceded defeat.
"Make sure you call us from New York and let us know you made it safely and again when you are getting ready to board." Danny sounded every bit the overprotective father.
"Daniel, it will be after midnight here when I land." She started to argue.
"Don't care." He countered.
"We will have our cell phones with us. You know what will happen if you don't call, right?" Steve added.
"Just call them. We do not need them freaking out and causing a major incident at La Guardia because they are worried about you." Kono added.
"Okay. I will call." Dianne caved knowing they were likely not kidding. She could just imagine some security officer tracking her down because the pair were worried. A knock at the door interrupted everyone before any further arguments about checking in could erupt. "Who in the world could that be?"
Already closest to the door, Catherine peered out and opened with without explanation. "Why hello you two." She stepped back to let Kamekona and Governor Denning join the fray.
"I hope we are not imposing." Sam spoke first. "We just happened to arrive at the same time wishing to say our alohas to Ms. Bradley." He answered the unspoken question written on everyone's faces.
Individually seeing Kamekona or Sam arrive at the McGarrett house was not an altogether surprising thing, but their simultaneous arrival had stunned everyone silent.
"Not at all." Steve regained his ability to speak first and welcomed both men further into the house. "You are both ohana, so your visit could never be an imposition."
Kamekona wrapped Dianne in a bear hug, leaving some to wonder if she might get crushed. Her laughter was a good indication that she was still breathing, so they opted not to interrupt. "I brought you a goody bag with some of that shrimp you liked so well the other day. Thought it might be a good addition to whatever they try to pass off as food on the flight."
"That was very sweet of you." She accepted the bag with a smile. A week ago she would have turned her nose up at such a thing, but he was right. She had really liked it the other day, and she saw his offering for what it was. Kamekona fed the people he cared about and somehow in the short time she had spent with him, he counted her as part of that group. "I may not even make it until I get on the plane before I devour it."
The big guy's huge smile brightened the atmosphere of the room considerably. It was hard not to smile when his personality was five times the size of the room where they stood.
Setting the shrimp next to her purse, Dianne turned to find the governor approaching. "You did not have to interrupt your day to come see me off." She chided.
"Well, in all fairness, I did not just come to see you off. Though the timing of my arrival might have had something to do with that. I had an update on the prospects of their television interview that I thought I should share with the team." Sam countered.
"And you were unable to give that update via phone?" Dianne teased.
"I could have, but another boring Sunday afternoon in the governor's mansion lacked appeal given the alternative of sneaking over here for a bit." He admitted.
"I am going to get Kono and Cath to help me practice more after Grandma has to go." Grace appeared beside them. "You can stay if you want to."
Sam smiled at Grace's invitation, not sure if he should accept without knowing how the adults in the house felt about him crashing their afternoon plans.
"She is right, you know? You are welcome to stay. Just beware, you are dressed casually enough that someone might drag you into the fray." Steve joked.
"Something tells me I would need to start at the same level as Grace and Beth compared to the rest of you." Denning laughed. He saw McGarrett's eyes flash with something. "What crazy schemes are you coming up with there, Commander?" He eyed the man warily.
"Not crazy. Well, possibly crazy. You know we discussed starting to do some sort of monthly self-defense class for women and children?"
"Yes. I have not forgotten your tentative agreement to that plan."
"Nothing tentative about it, sir … Sam." He corrected at the governor's pointed look. "Hey, you called me Commander first." McGarrett teased. "Anyway, if you are really serious about wanting this to reflect taking a serious stand against domestic violence, what better way than to have you involved with it. At least the first one."
"Define involved." Sam pressed, noticing the rest of the family was not actively listening to their exchange.
"That depends on you. It could just be you there in a relatively informal setting letting your presence speak for your support of goal."
"Or?" Sam questioned, knowing that could not be the SEAL's only idea.
"Or, you could let us train you to help teach the class. It is not like we will be teaching advanced hand to hand combat techniques, so I bet we could get you up to snuff fairly quick. And no matter what you said, I have a hard time believing your self-defense skills are really so lacking." Steve explained the second option with a look that said he thought it was far superior to the politician just showing up for some photo ops. Those were likely to be somewhat limited as they would not want to risk having photos in the press of any women that were trying to get out of dangerous situations.
"Plan B. Plan A might have merit for some politicians, but you are right. This idea is not about good press and kissing babies. It is about making our stance on domestic violence clear, and I think you are right. Letting the participants see that I am willing to be more than just a mouthpiece for something so important sends a much more meaningful message."
The general excitement in the room encouraged the governor. It was clear this bunch thought he was making the right decision. His security team might not be too pleased about it, but he was certain they could come to grips with it. After all, it was no secret his head of security all but considered McGarrett to be some sort of god among men. Not that McGarrett needed to know that.
"It sounds like you are going be staying busy while I am back in London." Ms. Bradley patted his arm as the others went back to their random chatter around the room. "I do believe if more people in positions of power were like you, the world would be a far better place."
"Thank you, though I am man enough to admit that I have made, and will likely continue to make, my fair share of mistakes." He looked around the room as he spoke, considering how much different things almost were with his task force.
"And you have thought better of some of those mistakes before you committed to them. The willingness to re-evaluate a situation before passing final judgment is an admirable quality." Dianne gave him a warm smile.
"Indeed it is." Sam's expression spoke volumes about how much he thought the same applied to Ms. Bradley. "Are you looking forward to your return for the holidays?"
"I am. It will be an odd change to spend the time surrounded by family. I am afraid most of my recent holidays have been rather on the quiet side."
"I do not think quiet will be something you will have to worry about around here." The governor laughed. "Speaking of less than quiet, do make sure you bring at least one more formal dress."
"I did not think this bunch was much for the formal wear unless forced." She stared at him, puzzled.
"They are not, but I believe I will get them to make an exception for the formal gala at the governor's mansion. While they often resist such events, I am counting on them caving when I tell them that there will be a special party for the children of a select group of guests. I can only imagine how much Grace will enjoy getting to be decked out like a princess for the evening."
"I still do not quite follow why your task force attending an event requires me to have a formal gown."
"Because invitations will be sent for you, Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Mary, and Catherine as well." The governor replied.
"Well, in that case, I will make sure to come prepared." She nodded her head. "I do appreciate the advanced warning."
"I should let you get back to your farewells." Sam pointed her toward Catherine and Kono. "It has been a pleasure meeting you."
"Thank you. I hope things would have eventually ended in a similar fashion had you not taken an interest, but I am very much relieved that you did. I have no doubt you saved me, Daniel, and Grace a world of headaches and heartbreak." She leaned in to give him a hug. "You have no idea how very much I appreciate what you have done for us."
"It was my pleasure. The last thing I want is for anything else to hurt Grace." He embraced her warmly before ushering her off to the waiting women.
"You know," Danny sidled up beside him, "she is right. We owe you a great deal for what you have done for us in these last several days."
"No. You owe me nothing." Sam declined quite strongly even as he kept his voice low. "I did nothing more than what any of you would have done for each other. As I was informed the other day, I have now become a part of this ohana whether I like it or not, and I find I rather like it. Which means I intend to do my level best to maintain that position."
"Be that as it may, you showed up here to help us face a threat before you had been accepted into the fold. Not only did you show up, but you came in swords drawn, and left no doubt about the futility continuing on the path. You did all that without having any idea how we would react." Danny challenged.
"True. For all I knew you could have sent me packing as soon as the threat was gone. It still would have been worth it. You, and the rest of the team, deserve more loyalty than I had shown you up to that point. That was my chance to make amends. If I had a daughter, I hope were the situations reversed, someone would do the same for me."
"You ever have a daughter, governor, and she is likely to be one of the most protected children on the planet." Danny smirked. Sam just gave him a befuddled look. "Like you said, you are ohana now. After what we have experienced, I have no doubt that any children born in this ohana will be combat trained by the time they are ten. I should have started teaching Grace before now, but that is on me. The mistake will not be made again."
Danny and the governor both laughed. They both knew he was only joking, at least about the full extent of the training. Any future kids would probably be closer to eighteen by the time they were fully combat trained, by ten they would just know at least a dozen ways to kill an attacker.
/ GUARDIAN /
A/N: You know what to do ;)
Don't forget to send any other suggestions for the interview questions.