Disclaimer: Ideas are fictional; not making any money on this. Hawaii 5-0 belongs to CBS. That's okay because none of this would work on TV.
This chapter takes place sometime between Episodes 6 and 7.
It was late afternoon local time when Steve and his team landed. It took a couple of hours to get to their base camp, collect their equipment, and settle in the dorm-like tent. The CO gave the team an hour to grab some food and make any calls. Then all personal gear would be collected for safekeeping.
Steve went to the mess tent to gather his supper. He carried it to a deserted corner of camp and pulled out his phone. "Danny, how is everything going there?" They had agreed that Steve's name would not be used in any conversation.
"It's been a long day so far. How are you doing?" Danny was relieved to hear from Steve. He was afraid that there would be no last call.
"You know what they say; it's not the age, it's the miles. I hate sitting in a boring classroom all day, but the sooner I get started, the sooner I'll finish. Is Grace there?"
"Yeah, she had a bad day and I had to pick her up from school early. Hold on." Steve heard a muffled sound and then Grace's voice.
"Daddy, I miss you so much. Where are you?"
Steve's breath hitched; he tried to think of something that might comfort her. "I'm never far away Grace. I'll see you in a couple of weeks. I love you baby."
"I love you too Daddy. I had to give Danno a hug when he picked me up from school. I had a tummy ache." Grace knew she was going to cry and tried to think of a way to prevent it. Suddenly, she straightened up and saluted; she would pretend to give Daddy a report. "My tummy felt better when I hugged him. I'm okay now, sir."
Steve could almost see her; she was being so brave. "Good job Commander Grace. Carry on, sailor. Daddy loves you."
Grace slumped over, her mission accomplished. She handed the phone back to Danny who had already deciphered Steve's cryptic message so far. Steve had apparently been traveling all day and was at the target destination. He wouldn't be back until his mission was complete, and wasn't sure how long that would take.
"God Danny, she's ripping my heart out." Steve had his head on his hand, a study in misery.
"I know babe. That was not her intention."
"I could tell she was being brave for me. It's the first time that I've had to leave like this. Remind her it's just my routine duty so that she doesn't worry about me." Steve didn't know if his phone line was being monitored but needed to give the impression that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"No, just hurry home. We'll be here waiting. Love you babe." Danny knew that time was running short.
"Love you too. Give Grace a big hug for me. Bye." With that, Steve ended the call. He ate his meal, which was cold now. It didn't matter; he had a lump in the pit of his stomach and hardly tasted anything. Then he turned in his personal belongings except for a small picture of Danny and Grace. They had been sitting in front of the fireplace at the cabin. Danny was holding a sleepy Grace. Steve missed them both terribly. He tucked the picture into a pocket and squared his soldiers.
It was time to put his emotions aside. Steve needed all of his focus on his target, Ramon Suarez. Ramon was due in the nearby town tomorrow or the next day. Steve would arrive before him as part of a group of laborers. Steve hadn't shaved in a couple of days and was well-tanned. He spoke fluent Spanish and intended to blend in. Tonight would be the last opportunity to sleep in safety. Steve forced himself to relax and finally dozed off. He dreamed of Danny and Grace. They were all in the big bed, and Grace was telling them a story from one of her books. Steve woke early feeling amazingly well-rested.
The team got some last-minute intel over coffee and powdered eggs. Then the team set out for town. Steve could feel the adrenaline kick in and was hyper alert. It was show time. For the first couple of days, it was more tedious than anything. Suarez showed up in town mid-afternoon and headed for the bar. His next visit was to one of the women who 'serviced' the town. He stayed for two days and then started back to the drug plant.
Two days later, Steve was hiking through the jungle in his special suit. The suit was hot and he knew that he would go home a few pounds lighter. Steve had found and neutralized two infra-red sensors so far. Both were facing in other directions now so his team could pass in safety. Progress was slow but Steve thought they must be close to the target.
Suddenly he detected movement to his right. A man dressed in camo gear was patrolling the area. Steve clicked his radio on and off three times, a signal to the team that danger was near. A few more clicks signaled the guard's location. Minutes later, Steve saw the man fall. Buzz Saw had taken him down.
Steve and the team spent another hour locating the entrance to the drug den. It was hidden underground; someone in the cartel had obviously watched the Tom Clancy movie. Quickly, the team set explosive charges. Steve asked to detonate the charges; he remembered Danny's comment. This explosion would keep the island safe for his family.
The rest was anti-climactic. There were only a few survivors including Suarez. He knew that he was a dead man. The boss had warned him about his forays into town. He would be blamed for leading the SEALs back to their hideout. Suarez became even more afraid when he discovered his tracker was McGarrett.
Steve and 5-0 had taken out the boss's cousin last year. His plans so far had just been a warm-up for what he planned to do to 5-0's home. He would give the drugs away if necessary just to humiliate 5-0. Suarez knew his only hope was to serve his time in the States. Left in country, the boss would find a way to kill him.
The SEAL took the prisoners back to base camp. It was slow going, but the team had time now. Suarez struck a deal to reveal the name and location of the boss in return for incarceration in the U.S. Steve and his team spent another two days verifying the intel and mapping out a plan to shut the cartel for good.
The cartel was meeting the next evening to set up their distribution ring in Hawaii. Although a missile strike would shut the cartel down, the decision was made to kill or capture cartel members and their guards. This would leave any records or other evidence intact for analysis by various government agencies.
The SEAL attack was textbook, similar to the raid on the Alvaro compound. Two of the cartel surrendered; all the rest were killed. One of the SEALs suffered a flesh wound, and another took a hit in the chest. Kevlar saved the second man. The rest of the team had bruises and scratches mostly from their trek in the jungle.
The team was de-briefed on the Gulfstream as they flew back home. Steve had showered, shaved, and dressed in clean fatigues before boarding the plan. The SEALs enjoyed a hot meal on the flight and even had a few hours sleep. There had been no opportunity to call Danny and Grace. Their mission gone so well that no one in country knew what had happened other than the cartel had been decimated. The goal was to keep the SEAL team's involvement secret; no one wanted a repeat of the Alvaro attack on SEAL Team 9.
Joe met Steve when the plane taxied back into Hangar 8. Steve grinned when he saw Joe. "Please tell me you haven't been waiting for me all this time?"
"Don't flatter yourself. Someone had to keep an eye on your family. They even fed me a couple of times. The kid is cute; she saluted me when I left. Williams is a little excitable, but he's a good man. He kept it together for the sake of your 5-0 team and his daughter. Where do you want to go?"
"Danny should be waiting for Grace at the school. It's the holiday weekend, and we have Grace this week. I can surprise them both. And Joe, thanks for everything. It helped knowing that you were watching out for them."
"I read the preliminary report. You and your team did a great job. You saved a lot of lives. It was the least I could do." Steve watched the scenery fly by. It was so great to be home. Before his dad was killed, visits had been few and far between. Now he hated to leave.
Steve could see the school ahead; the Camaro glinted in the afternoon sun. Joe barely had time to stop his car before Steve jumped out. "Go ahead, I'll drop your bag on your front porch." Joe shook his head, laughing as he drove away. It was great to see McGarrett so happy.
Steve had almost reached Danny when Grace came down the stairs. She saw a tall figure dressed in a uniform; it looked just like Daddy had the last time she saw him. Grace had missed him so much. She spent a lot of time planning her mission with the Barbies and the Joes. It calmed her and helped her feel closer to Steve.
Grace couldn't see the tall man any longer. Maybe she just imagined him here. Daddy was due to come home soon, but he hadn't called home since the first day. Danno said that maybe he had to stay after school.
Steve saw both Danny and Grace now. He ducked out of sight and waited for Grace to get to the Camaro. He saw Danny crouch down to hug Grace. That's when he stepped over to both of them. "What does it take to get a ride home?"
Grace whipped around. "Daddy, you're home." Grace turned to her Daddy Steve and hugged him tightly. Steve stood with her in his right arm and pulled Danny in for a hug with his left arm. God, it felt so good to be back.
Danny didn't know whether to slug Steve or kiss him. "What, you put on a uniform and forget how to make a phone call? How did you get here?" Danny settled for a hug.
"We flew back in today. Joe gave me a ride. I couldn't call. The brass wanted to keep everything quiet. Can we go home now?" Steve knew they were a spectacle in front of the school but he didn't care.
Danny offered Steve the keys but he shook his head. "You drive Danno. I just want to sit back and enjoy the ride."
When Danny pulled up in the driveway, Steve noticed how nice everything looked. "We had a busy week at the office. I hired a couple of the Kelly cousins to give me a hand with the yard work and the house. I wanted everything nice in case you came home. That's okay, isn't it?"
"Let's see, I'm back with my family and don't have to spend the weekend cleaning or cutting the grass. Of course it's okay Danny. Thanks." Danny unlocked the front door and punched in the code. Steve came in and walked around the living room. He remembered the first time that he returned after his dad's death. The house had felt so empty. His footsteps had echoed through the house.
Now the house was full of life. He picked up a picture from the table. Steve was on the floor with Grace and Ali positioning the Joes around Barbie's Dream House. How had this miracle happened to him? He had long stopped believing in miracles. "It's good to be home."
"Hey, I found this on the front porch. Did the tooth fairy bring it?" Danny was lugging Steve's duffel in. Steve took the bag and carried it to the laundry room. "Thank Danny. Joe brought it over after he dropped me off at Grace's school. I need to wash everything. I'm wearing the only clean clothes left." Steve loaded the machine and dropped the remaining dirty clothes on the floor.
"That is an amazing odor. I won't ask where you were or what you did. Were you successful?" Danny had a long talk with Joe White last week; Joe clarified what kind of information Steve would be able to give upon his return.
Steve turned to Danny and pulled him in for a long hard kiss. Both men were breathless. "We were very successful. Danny, the explosion was awesome. I detonated the charges personally and thought of you."
Danny laughed. "That's kind of a turn-on. I'll hold that thought for tonight. What do you want to do first? I'd like to call the team and tell them you are back. I'm thinking we need a welcome home cookout tomorrow. Do you need to call the governor?"
The phone calls were finished quickly. Steve's call to the governor was brief. Governor Denning had his own contacts and had been informed of the mission's success. "I hear you did an outstanding job, Commander McGarrett. Detective Williams was very effective filling in for you the last two weeks. Your team is well trained and solved a big case in your absence."
Danny had made calls to Chin, Kono, Lori and Max. Steve called Joe and issued an invitation. Although not on the 5-0 team, Joe had a place in the 5-0 family. They all knew that Steve would still be in jail if not for Joe's timely information.
The cookout was planned for tomorrow afternoon. Everyone volunteered to bring something for the meal. Danny and Steve only had to provide the hamburgers and the drinks. They had a 3-day weekend thanks to Labor Day on Monday. It was turning out to be a great weekend.
Steve glanced over at Grace, who was dozing on the couch. "How has she been?"
"She had a tough time babe. She finished the GI Joe-Barbie mission for you and was fine tuning it at Rachel's. Her appetite has been off, and she slept with me the first week. I don't think she slept much last week. She called three times a day to find out if I had heard from you."
"Let me take a quick shower and change out of these clothes. Then I'd like to come down and hold her for a while." And that's what Steve did. He was back downstairs in 10 minutes, his hair still damp from the shower.
Steve walked over to the couch and picked Grace up. He chose his dad's old recliner and lay back with Grace on his lap. Grace buried her nose in Steve's t-shirt and murmured, "Daddy, you're home". Then both settled in for a nap.
Danny watched father and daughter snuggle in for a while. They all had suffered with Steve's absence but Grace more so. Danny knew that Steve wanted to go for a swim; Steve had talked at length one night how his beach was the one thing he missed more than anything when John McGarrett had sent him away. Steve's priority was Grace today. Danny found his camera in the study and snapped a picture of his family. It was a perfect picture of love and contentment. Steve and Danny would have their private time tonight. Right now, they needed to take care of Grace.