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.
Spoiler Alert: Details from Episode 7, only Danny obviously won't be looking for an apartment or dating Gabby.
It was fortunate that Danny offered to let Grace stay with Rachel for Halloween because they were called in on a case. A young couple was found in an ancient Hawaiian temple, a heiau. Unfortunately, Danny refused to wait for the priest to bless them and ask permission for them to enter. When Danny found a huge rock in the windshield of the Camaro, Chin and Kono could only shake their heads. It wasn't enough that they were accosted by a crazed homeless man in the parking lot. The whole evening went downhill from there.
Steve and Danny had an argument on Tuesday about respecting Hawaiian culture and beliefs. At first, it was limited to his behavior at the heiau and Steve's comparison of the burial ground to a church. Then it expanded to include belief in an after-life or a higher power.
Steve was shocked to discover that Danny believed in neither. Although he did not attend church now, his mother made sure that he and Mary attended weekly with her when they were kids. He had seen a lot over the years and knew that there was a lot he couldn't explain.
Mostly, he hated to think that his mom was just gone. There were times when he was at the Academy and later in BUDS training that he dreamed about his mother. The dreams were so real and usually came during the time just before sleep. They were always walking on the beach near the McGarrett home. Steve would pour out his heart and his mom always comforted him.
Their frequency had decreased as he got older, but he still dreamed about her once or twice a year. She came to him a few weeks ago. Steve remembered telling her all about Danny and Grace. She sighed and told him she never thought she would have a grandchild. She promised to watch over Grace and made him promise to keep Danny safe.
There was one other thing that Steve had never mentioned. Steve believed that some part of his father still remained in their home. For weeks after coming home, Steve would awaken at night to the scent of John McGarrett's after shave. He also heard footsteps pacing the first floor between the living room and the study. That was John's favorite path when he was trying to work out a problem.
At first, Steve would run downstairs in an effort to catch the intruder in the act. He even went so far as to borrow a motion-activated infrared camera to try to catch an image of the intruder. There was a heat signature, but the image was transparent. Steve finally decided that his house was haunted. The pattern was the same as with his mother. The occurrences were more frequent at first; now John visited only once or twice a month.
Even without the visitations from his parents, Steve had a compelling reason to believe in a higher power. For the first time in his life, Steve was spending time with a child. Grace was a miracle to Steve. He saw some of Rachael and a lot of Danny in Grace, and there was also something uniquely Grace in the mix too. Steve wished he had been there in the beginning with Grace. Danny showed him pictures, but it wasn't the same.
Since Grace became part of his life, Steve worried about all the things the parents obsess about: illness, accidents, kidnappers, child molesters…. Some days, he was almost overwhelmed by the fear. And Grace hadn't even started to date or drive. He got through the worst of it by praying, "God, please bless Grace and keep her safe. And please don't let me screw this up."
Steve hated to think that Danny couldn't even find that comfort in his life. He met Danny's parents and knew that they attended church regularly. Danny's sisters still attended church with their families. Steve wondered when Danny had turned away from his faith.
The case was very convoluted. They had a dead man's fingerprint on the dead girl's eyeglass lens. Greg Straithan had been shot in the face by his girlfriend with a shotgun. Steve paired with Lori to interview the girlfriend, Nikki Royce. She was on a psych hold in Okalani Hospital; Steve hoped Lori's profiling skills would help them decide if she had been part of a plot to fake Straithan's death. Steve had to agree with Lori's assessment: Nikki definitely had serious mental health issues. Lori could only say with some certainty that Nikki believed that she had shot her boyfriend.
Chin obtained an exhumation order for Straithan's remains. Steve and Danny were also graveside when the casket was opened against the mortician's protest. Despite the fact that the grave had been undisturbed, the casket was empty. Charlie Fong was able to isolate a severed hand on footage from a camera found at the gravesite. That led to an expanded search of the burial grounds for the rest of Straithan's body.
Dr. Asano was there on the behalf of the Burial Council to make sure that the remains there were not disturbed any more than necessary. Ground penetrating radar revealed the presence of several more recent bodies, suggesting the work of a serial killer. To make matters worse, another large rock was thrown through the rear window of the Camaro.
Steve and Danny realized that whoever was throwing rocks at Danny's car had never left the site. They went on the hunt for the homeless man who ranted at them the first night. They found his campsite and then they found him. His name was Samuel Lee; he was a combat veteran from Vietnam. He was also not their killer.
The victims recovered from the heiau had died from various causes over the last few years. They also had one thing in common: they had ligaments and tendons missing from major joints. In Max's opinion, someone had harvested body parts from the bodies after death but before burial. The bodies that were identified had been buried at the same cemetery by the same mortician, Tyler Mitchell.
They found Mitchell's body at the mortuary; he had been embalmed alive. Lori was attacked during her search of the lower level of the mortuary. Steve found her unconscious, although she was alert and back on her feet shortly. Steve always hated when part of his team was hurt. Lori assured Steve that she was okay, and she was gratified to Steve so worried about her.
Steve had as much as told her at his homecoming party that she was a part of the 5-0 family now. The teasing she took Halloween night as Steve and Danny speculated about her possible costume was indicative of that. Steve warned her that they would get into her personal life. Now Lori was warmed by Steve's obvious concern.
The other common element to the victims was a charge nurse at the hospital where they had all been taken. Danny and Steve found their suspect, Jacob Garrison, at the property he had purchased earlier. It was in an isolated area, and the Quonset hut there gave him a place to work. Lori and Chin came in the back entrance; 5-0 had him surrounded. Unfortunately, Garrison chose to ignite the formaldehyde he had stored there rather than going to jail. He almost took the 5-0 team with him. The case was closed, and the team escaped the giant fireball.
It had been a busy week, and Grace was still with Emelina. Danny picked Grace up while Steve stowed their gear at HQ. He tucked Grace in and went downstairs to heat up some soup. Steve came in just as it finished heating. He went upstairs to kiss Grace and wash up.
Steve pulled two Longboards out of the fridge and joined Danny at the table. "You can take your car in tomorrow for repair and pick it up on the way home. I'll drive the truck and pick you up at the shop. Thanks for heating up the soup."
Danny took a sip of beer and nodded. "You're welcome. Thanks for the beer. Do you want to talk about it? Something has been bothering you all week."
Steve sighed and took a spoonful of soup. It was chicken noodle, supposedly good for whatever ails you. "Danny, I believe and you don't. There's really nothing to talk about. I'm not going to try to convince you, and I certainly don't want to argue with you. I'll only say that I've seen and heard things, and I believe in an afterlife."
"That's it? That's what is bothering you?" Danny was surprised. He knew that he had screwed up at the heiau, but this went beyond what he did Halloween night. "So you buy into all that stuff?"
"Yes Danny I do. I'll tell you this. I pray for Grace every day. And I pray that I don't screw this up with you. It does make me feel better. I know that makes me foolish in your eyes. I can live with that." Steve didn't want to make Danny feel bad. He leaned over and kissed Danny.
"Steven, I would never think you foolish. And thank you for not preaching. I get enough of that from Mom." Danny finished his soup and his beer. He sat with Steve until he finished his meal although they didn't speak again.
When Steve finished, he collected the dirty dishes and stowed them in the dishwasher. It was still half empty but they were running out of spoons. They had been too busy to cook a full meal. Steve started the dishwasher while Danny wiped up the table and the stove.
They went upstairs, showered, and climbed into bed. Steve fell asleep quickly, but Danny drifted into that state between wakefulness and sleep. He closed his eyes and felt the warm sun on his face. He was walking on the beach, but he wasn't irritated about the sand for a change.
He saw a woman coming toward him. She smiled when she saw him. "Danny, I've wanted to meet you for a while now. You've made my Steve so happy. I wanted to thank you for loving him and sharing Grace. I didn't think he would ever love. He saw what his father went through after my death, and I think he was afraid to let that happen to him."
Danny was really confused. "I'm sorry, have we met? You look really familiar, and I'm usually really good with faces."
The woman reached out and took his hand. "Let's walk. I do this with Steve sometimes. He needed me so much when he was younger, but not so much now. It's hard for a mother to accept when her children don't need her anymore. I won't get many more visits, but I had to talk to you. You're wrong, you know. There's something more when we die; there's someone more than us involved."
Danny stopped walking, refusing to take another step. "I don't understand. You're Mrs. McGarrett?"
"Danny, you can call me Mom. We're family. You believed when you were younger. What happened?" She started walking again, pulling Danny with her.
Danny wasn't sure what was happening, but she asked nicely and he started talking. "I've seen so much sadness from the victims and their survivors. Sometimes I see their faces in my sleep. Sometimes I see the faces of the people I've killed. I still believed then. But when Rachel left and took Grace, I guess I just lost it. I was only doing my job, and Rachel couldn't handle it. She took my baby away from me, and something inside me broke."
Danny was crying now and the woman held him until he finally stopped. "But you held on and you got her back. Grace is with you again, and my Steve is a second father to her. You're whole again. There was a plan: for you, for Steve, for Grace. And I'm here with you now. You said you only believe what you can see. Well?"
Someone was shaking Danny. "Danno, you've got to wake up. Whatever is wrong, I'll make it right babe. Just don't cry."
When Danny finally woke up, Steve was rocking him in his arms. "Tell me what's wrong Danno. Please talk to me."
"I'm okay. I just had a really weird dream." Danny held onto Steve; he needed his warmth. He had been so warm on the beach. Where did that come from?
"Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes it helps to talk about it." Steve was rubbing his hand up and down Danny's back, trying to sooth him.
"No, I'm good now. For some reason, I feel better. I need to run some water over my face. I'll be right back." Danny was a little shaky on his feet as he walked into the bathroom. He remembered the dream now. Danny glanced down at his feet. He had a few grains of sand still stuck on his feet. He brushed them off and walked back into the bedroom. Danny snapped his lamp on and pulled the covers back. There, on his side of the bed, was more sand.
Steve frowned at the sand and asked, "Danno, did you walk in your sleep? You didn't go out while I was in the shower, did you?"
Danny palmed his face and shook his head. "Steven, I think this is a case of don't ask, don't tell. I'm not ready to talk about it yet, but I promise we'll discuss this another day."
"Danno, Daddy Steve, is everything okay? I thought I heard someone crying." Grace stood in the open doorway, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
Steve walked over and picked Grace up. "Everything is okay. Danno just had a bad dream. I'll tuck you back in bed."
Danny stopped Steve before he could reach the door. "Steve, wait. Would it be okay if Grace stayed with us tonight? I think I need her close tonight, you and Grace."
"Sure Danno, whatever you need. Are you finished in the bathroom?" Steve was really getting worried about Danny. He seemed calmer now, but where did that sand come from?
"Yeah, let me turn the light out." Danno turned the bathroom light and then his lamp off. He crawled into bed where his precious daughter and his lover waited for him. He pulled them close and closed his eyes. He didn't think he would be able to sleep but he did. The next thing Danny knew, Steve was getting up for his morning swim.
I'm a great fan of 'Ghosthunters' and have gone on a couple of haunted tours. I couldn't resist expanding on the cargument in Episode 7.