A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the delay, but here's the next chapter. I hope it's worth the wait.

Steve found Rachel looking around frantically, calling out for Grace without success. She saw him coming and rushed to his side. "Steve! I can't find her! She's gone!" She said in an anxious voice, still looking in all directions.

Steve looked around as well, directing her towards the right side of the beach. "Calm down, Rachel, she couldn't have gone far. Let's split, you look that way and I will look in the opposite direction…" And at Rachel's assent, he started looking around, searching for clues that could point him to Grace's location.

He found what he was looking for right at the water's edge. It looked like Grace didn't want to be followed, so she had moved as close as the water as she could so the waves would wash away her footprints.

Fortunately for Steve, it looked like Grace eventually moved away from the water, and he could follow her prints towards a small cluster of shrubbery. He moved silently and managed to hear the soft sniffles coming from behind the leaves, so he came closer, crouched by what looked like the entrance to the leafy sanctuary and peeked in. "Hey Gracie, do you mind if I come in?" He asked softly.

Grace was curled up with her face hidden between her arms, sobs wracking her entire frame. She looked up when she heard Steve's words, she was surprised for a second, but then she practically threw herself into Steve's arms. "Uncle Steve!" She wailed into his shoulder.

Steve held her close, relieved that at least Grace still trusted him enough to let him help. "Hey, sweetheart, it's okay… It'll be okay…" He crooned to the distraught girl.

Grace shook her hear jerkily, not lifting her face from Steve's chest. "NO! You were there… at the 'spital! You heard! He said he didn't want me to go! You saw how sad he was! And mom doesn't care… She… she just wants us to leave, no matter if he can follow…" She said in between hiccups.

Steve petted her head trying to comfort her. "I know Gracie… But your mom, your dad and Stan only want what's best for you and Charlie… They're trying to find a way to make everyone happy, but sometimes change is hard, you know?"

Grace had calmed down a bit, but she still clung to her uncle, twisting around to sit more comfortably on his lap. "But Danno's unhappy, and I don't want him to be unhappy… Besides, I don't really want to go." She said with a tired sigh. "When we first came here I didn't have any friends, and now that I do we have to leave again…" She mumbled tiredly. She didn't seem to hear the soft footsteps just outside their sanctuary, but Steve did. He chose not to say anything, since he figured that Rachel needed to hear Grace's side without any external pressures.

Steve gathered Grace close, talking in a gentle voice. "I'm sure it'll be alright, you're the nicest girl I've known, Gracie. I'm sure that you'll have no problem making new friends."

Grace was leaning her head against Steve's shoulder and moved it around to look at Steve's face. "Danno said that you had to move after your mom pretended to go to heaven… Did you have trouble making friends there?"

Steve recalled that sad time of his life. He thought about lying, but he knew that all Grace needed right now was honesty. "Well, at that time I was really sad about my mom and very confused about having to move away, so I wasn't really in a mood to get a lot of friends… It took me a while, and I was mostly alone, but once I started at Annapolis I met a bunch of guys that were like brothers to me… Don't worry sweetheart, it's going to be ok…" He said with a small smile.

"I'm gonna miss you, Uncle Steve…" Grace said with a sniff.

Steve held her close. "Oh, you won't even get a chance, Gracie. If you ever move away, we'll be calling all the time, and we'll be visiting so often that you'll get tired of us!" That at least got a tired giggle from the little girl on his arms.

Steve heard the soft footsteps moving away a bit and a minute later he and Grace turned around when they heard Rachel's voice calling for Grace. Steve gave her a sympathetic look. "What do you say we get back to your mom and your Danno? They were worried…"

Grace's shoulders slumped. "Ok, but they'll be mad…" She said somberly.

Steve chuckled. "I think right now they'll be mostly worried, and not as angry as you think…" He said with a comforting smile.

"Alright…" Grace said, and with another sigh she moved from Steve's lap and started crawling out of their hiding place.

Once Steve crawled out as well, he could see Grace slowly walking towards her mother and after exchanging some quiet words, the little girl buried herself in Rachel's arms. After holding tight for a couple of seconds, they both started walking back to the house hand in hand and Steve followed.

Danny was waiting in the lanai, looking around anxiously. When Grace spotted him she let go of Rachel's hand and ran to give her dad a hug just as big as the one she gave her mom. Danny and Rachel exchanged a look over Grace's head before she and Steve moved into the house, leaving Danny and Grace on the lanai.

Danny pulled Grace to sit on the chairs nearby and once they were sitting Grace started talking. "I'm sorry Danno, I don't really hate you… I just don't want you to be so sad…" She said softly, not looking at her dad's face.

Danny gently put his hand under Grace's chin to get her to look at him. "Monkey, do you remember what I always tell you? Where my home is?"

"You always say that your home is where I am…" Grace said uncertainly. "But you have friends here now, and a job that you like, even when Uncle Steve does crazy stuff… Hawaii is your home now too…"

With a weary sigh Danny drew Grace close. "Monkey, I can find a job in Vegas just like I found a job here and about my friends... Well, good friends will still be friends, no matter how close or far they live…" Danny said with a small smile on his face.

Grace looked closely at her father and didn't look too convinced, but didn't have much of a choice other than accepting her Danno's words, even if she didn't like them. She leaned forward to wrap her arms around Danny's neck. "I love you Danno…"

Danny closed his eyes, drinking in the nearness of his little girl. "I love you more Monkey… Now your mom has waited long enough. What do you say about going home? Tomorrow is a school day…"

With a put upon sigh Grace let go of her father. "Ok… but I'm asking mom to let me come see you on Wednesday!" She said, giving him a serious look.

Danny smiled tiredly. "Ok Monkey…"

After collecting her things and giving her uncle Steve another hug, Grace finally agreed to go home with her mom. Danny stood by the door, watching as the car drove away until it disappeared around the corner.

Steve was inside, fidgeting and looking for things to do. When Danny came back in, he stood a few feet away from him, looking uncertain. "I'm sorry Danny…" He said when the silence lasted for too long.

Danny didn't even look in Steve's direction, choosing to make his slow way upstairs instead. Steve wanted to follow, but decided to give him a few minutes to cool off. He didn't have to wait too long, because 10 minutes later Danny was coming down the stairs dragging a duffle bag behind him and moving towards the door.

Steve stood in his way. "Danny, what are you doing? Where are you going?"

Danny didn't even look at Steve's face. "Away from here, to my place probably…" He said in a tight voice.

Steve frowned, but moved to let Danny pass. "You can't drive your car…" He said, hoping to change his friend's mind.

Danny didn't break his slow and pained stride. "I'll call a cab…" He said, opening the door.

As a last resort, Steve moved closer to his friend. "Danny, I was just trying to help…"

Danny turned to look sharply at Steve. "Trust me McGarrett, you helped. You've made it much easier for me to leave Hawaii…" and with that, he turned around and left, closing the door behind him.

TBC

A/N: Well, if you're reading this, thank you very much for keeping up with this story. Life has been crazy busy, so I won't promise to update so soon, maybe that way I'll update sooner rather than later!

I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter, so feel free to drop a line!