A/N: So this chapter is a lot shorter than most, but between travel and being sick for two full weeks I've reached the point of either posting as is or it possibly taking another week more more before I can get something up. I'm hoping you guys will take something over nothing.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and make no money doing this. I'm just having fun playing with them. All mistakes are my own.
Chapter 87
"Danno!" Grace raced down the steps in front of Sacred Heart as soon as she spotted her dads and the Camaro.
"Hey there, Monkey." The detective wrapped his arms around her, thankful that the day hadn't gone any worse than it did. "I hear we're going for shaved ice before we go home."
She leaned back, grinning at him. "That's the plan."
Looking up, Danny caught sight of Ms. Jones heading toward them. "Why don't you hop in the car, Grace? We'll be ready in just a minute."
Grace saw her teacher and nodded, giving Steve a quick hug before she climbed into the back of the Camaro. The SEAL reached in and turned the car on, letting her listen to the radio and enjoy the air conditioning while they spoke with her teacher.
"I'm glad I caught you," Ms. Jones spoke as soon as she was close enough. "I just wanted to follow up after this afternoon's excitement. I believe the the full staff is going to be notified as soon as all the kids are gone judging by the message we received to stay for a brief staff meeting, but Mr. Black did swing by earlier to let me know that Ms. Caldwell is officially gone." Her eyes shifted to McGarrett. "I believe you were expecting that."
Steve nodded, "We didn't push for it, but from what Mr. Black said her involvement, or lack thereof, today was the last straw. Can't say I'm sorry to see her go, especially after what we learned this afternoon."
"Do tell." Ms. Jones's arched brow emphasized her curiosity.
"Tony's uncle was a rookie at HPD." Danny explained. "It appears he had an issue with us and assumed that since his brother was a substantial financial backer for the school that his nephew would be able to get away with causing problems."
"Just like he almost did." Ms. Jones interjected. "Thankfully, Mr. Kimo didn't share Ms. Caldwell's prejudices. I gather from what he told me that Tony and his buddies were quite surprised when they actually got in trouble. Even after he sent them to his office, they expected it was just for appearances sake."
"I'm glad he was there. I still can't believe Caldwell actually thought it was okay to just ignore the situation. I mean did she really not think that we'd find out eventually?" Danny shook his head.
"I think she was genuinely that full of herself. She often forgot that there was anyone with more power than her around here given that the board doesn't often get involved in the day to day activities of the school. I guess this was a good reality check." Ms. Jones shrugged. "Personally I'm thrilled to see her gone. I've been here longer than she has, and I miss the way things were before her attitude started permeating the school." Both men noticed the hopeful tone as she spoke. "Now, if I understood Ms. Grace correctly on our way out, you three have a date for some shaved ice. You better get to it."
"That we do." Steve nodded.
"We'll see you tomorrow." Danny shook her hand before she turned back toward the school.
"How come this day feels like it was more like three days crammed into one?" Danny asked his partner over the hood of the car before they opened the doors. "I mean seriously, the session with the doc, the excitement at the school, the madness at HPD … how did we fit that into one day?"
"Could of been worse. There was no gunfire, explosions, or shark cages." Steve winked at him as he started to lower himself into the car.
"Don't jinx us, Super SEAL. Day's not over yet." Danny shook his head as he joined the two in the Camaro. "Ready for that shaved ice, Monkey?"
"Silly question, Danno." Grace shook her head as she giggled at her father.
Fifteen minutes late the three had their treats and were walking barefoot down the beach enjoying the afternoon sun and the sound of the waves crashing on shore.
"How'd it go with Dr. Thompson?" Grace asked after they'd walked for a couple of minutes, voice full of curiosity.
The men exchanged a quick glance over her head before Danny answered, thankful they'd expected Grace to ask and agreed on what to tell her. "Really well. Mostly he was just interested to meet the person that was helping keep Super SEAL here in line, but he also wanted to talk through tips on handling Steve's nightmares since I'm around when they happen. All good stuff."
Grace nodded. "That's good." She grinned at her father. "Told you that you weren't in trouble."
"Yeah. Yeah. I know." Danny stuck his no purple tongue out at her.
"He asked about you too." Steve added toward Grace as he laughed at his partner. "I get the feeling someday he'd really like to meet you since he's heard so much about you from me."
"That'd be cool. He sounds really nice." The little girl smiled before turning her attention back to the shaved ice.
They walked a little further content to just spend the time together before Danny spoke again. "So how are you feeling after today?"
Grace took a few more steps before turning to look at her dads. "I don't know." Her head cocked to the side as she thought about how to answer. "I think more than anything I was mad at Tony for being such a jerk. Dr. James and I talked about the idea that I would probably hear people talking about what happened. She was right, knowing it was gonna happen helped some. Still sucked though." She shrugged, not sure how else to explain.
"Yeah, knowing it's probably going to happen doesn't mean it makes it any fun to hear when it does. You did the right thing asking your friends to help you and get an adult." Danny squatted down in front of her, looking up into her big brown eyes.
"Yeah, Nikki and Katie helped a lot." She let out a small laugh. "Probably a good thing Mr. Kimo showed up or I think Nikki might have tried to stop Tony on her own."
"I bet she could have done it too." Steve chuckled. "Still better that the teacher was able to deal with them though."
"Yeah. I would have felt really bad if she'd gotten in trouble for me." Grace started walking back in the direction they'd come from, obviously ready to put the topic behind her. "So do you think Alyssa will have more painted when we get home?"
"I bet she will. I talked to your grandma earlier and she said Alyssa got there shortly after we left this morning. Sounded like she planned on getting a lot done today." Danny grinned when Grace's pace picked up slightly before looking up at his partner. "You get the feeling someone wants to go check out the work?"
"I don't know. Maybe we should go back to HQ and do her homework there. She doesn't seem that interested in going home."
Throwing her now empty shaved ice cone into a nearby trashcan, Grace ran back to the pair, grabbing their hands, and pulling them toward the car. "Not a chance. We're going home."
The pair laughed, letting her lead them down the beach. They hadn't expected it to be a long stop on the way home, but they were both happy they'd carved out a little time for just the three of them. Of course, with Beth and Paul preparing to move into their new house fairly soon, they knew they'd be getting settled back into some version of what would become a normal routine. As much as they loved having the ohana around so close since all hell broke loose, they knew things would need to settle some.
*~*~* GUARDIAN*~*~*
"I insist dear," Beth watched Alyssa over the kitchen island. "You've been working hard all day, you need to get a good meal. Unless you have other plans you're staying for dinner."
"But I really don't …"
"Give it up, Alyssa." McGarrett's voice carried from the entry where he'd caught the last bit of the conversation. "If mom is determined to feed you, she's going to feed you. It's a lot easier to just go with it."
"But …"
"Nope," Danny trailed his partner into the kitchen as they heard Grace barrel up the stairs to see her walls. "Steve's right, just go with it." He gave his mom a quick hug. "Speaking of dinner, I can already smell it cooking. What is it?"
"Chicken enchiladas. Nothing fancy."
"Fancy or not, it smells delicious." Steve hugged Beth, laughing as he heard Grace racing back down the stairs.
"It's awesome!" She declared, huge smile plastered on her face as she bounced into the room. "There are so many fish!"
*~*~* GUARDIAN*~*~*
A/N:
To give you an idea about what Grace's wall is going to look like, imagine something really cool a lot like this: (if the link cooperates here) . ?src=/media/catalog/product/C/R/CRL-0000000005_ &fltr%5B%5D=wmi% %7CB