The Beginning

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

The characters of Lieutenant Commander Steven 'Steve' McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Victor Hesse, Anton Hesse, Former Detective John 'Johnny / Jack' McGarrett, Mary McGarrett, Kamekona Tupuola, Lieutenant Catherine 'Cath' Rollins, Frederick 'Fred' Doran, Detective Meka Hanamoa, Amy Hanamoa, Billy Hanamoa and Sang Min do not belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.

The character of Detective Sergeant Danielle 'Danni' Williams probably can be considered to be mine by now. Although she was originally based on male Danny, she soon evolved becoming her own person. She has her own background, her own family, her own history and her own distinct personality. This isn't to say that the Danny Williams we all know and love is completely gone, he still emerges through her at times. I like to think of female Danni as what Danny could have been if everything in his life had gone his way. As in full custody of Grace and a decent relationship with his ex.

The character of Grace has also changed slightly due to the change in Danni. Her surname is Taylor as this is her father's surname and was Danni's married name (Danni reverted back to her maiden name when she was divorced). Her parents also are amicable which has also impacted Grace but never fear, she's still the sweetheart we know and love, if anything she's more a sweetheart now.

The character of Duncan Taylor, Detective Rory Clements, Supervisory Special Agent in charge Ryan Moore, Special Agent Kale Meade, Special Agent Alexis Moss, Jeanine Landon, William 'Will' McGarrett, Noah Landon, Anna Michaels nee Landon, Theresa Law nee Landon, Deborah 'Debs' Landon and Michael Landon also belongs to me as does any other character who you do not recognise from the show. Please do not use them, or my version of Danni and Grace without first asking for my permission to do so.

Thank you.

Author Note

Here's the next chapter for you all.

Things are going to begin to hit off big style now in the terms of what happens! It's been so fun writing this story and as we begin to approach the final portion of the story it will only get better!

I hope you're all enjoying reading this as much as I've been enjoying writing it.

Please enjoy

Official Summary

When Danni Williams moves to Hawaii, all she wants to do is keep her head down and survive the time she had to stay there. The last thing she expected was to meet Steve McGarrett, a man who seems more intent on getting her blown up and finding out everything about her life than he is about following proper procedure. Danni has a job to do though and one way or another she is going to do it.

Chapter Summary

Danni glanced towards Steve from the corner of her eyes as they stepped into the empty elevator and wondered how exactly she could bring up the topic which was racing through her mind.

Overall Romances

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Catherine Rollins (McRollins)

Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)

Hints of Ryan Moore / Danni Williams (Rynni)

Meka Hanamoa / Amy Hanamoa (Mekmy)

Mentions of past John McGarrett / Doris McGarrett (Joris)

Michael Landon / Karen Landon (Micren)

Chapter Romances

Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Catherine Rollins (McRollins)

Warning

This story features a female Danni Williams in place of a male Danny Williams. Although in some stories I write, Danny does exist, he does not exist in this one.

If this is not your cup of tea then please hit the back button.

Another note

I do not have a Beta so please forgive any mistakes which may creep in, I always do my best to edit the story and check it but sometimes mistakes do creep in.

The places I've mentioned in Hawaii are ones which come from google, including the addresses. I've never been to Hawaii myself in person so I apologise for any mistakes which I may make, these are not intentional.

Chapter Sixteen

The calm before the storm

Thursday 23rd September 2010

3rd Floor

Ali'iolani Hale

417 King Street

Honolulu

Oahu

Danni glanced towards Steve from the corner of her eyes as they stepped into the empty elevator and wondered how exactly she could bring up the topic which was racing through her mind.

If she had still been with Meka then it would have been easy to do because six months together had taught her exactly how to approach anything like this. Meka liked things straight which meant that all she had to do was ask the question, bothering her. They would have discussed it together, bashing out ideas and thoughts before coming up with a plan which suited them both and that would have been it but she couldn't do that with her new partner. Steve was still an unknown quantity to her and one who could be surprisingly hard to read at time. She had no idea how he would react to certain situations, especially the situation she was thinking about now and if she was being honest with herself she wasn't quite sure whether she had the energy to find out either at that moment in time.

She stepped out of the elevator when the doors slid open again, automatically bringing her hand up to adjust her bag strap over her shoulder so it was comfortable as they walked across the foyer, both ignoring the security guards watching their progress before they stepped back out into the sunshine.

"Whatever it is that is going through your mind now Danni tell me now about it so we can get it solved, otherwise it's going to continue to bother you and that's not what I need from you right now, what I need is for you to be at your best." Steve commented suddenly, breaking the silence which had been between them.

She stopped at the bottom of the steps, turning to look at him when he halted beside her. She remained quiet, searching his eyes before she shook her head at him.

"We can discuss this in the car" She answered, glancing back towards the door when it opened and moved, heading back towards where the car was parked. She quickly unlocked it and pulled the driver side door open and lowered herself into the seat for what felt like the twentieth time that day. She couldn't remember the last time when she had done so much travelling in a single work day before. Steve's continual offer to her to take over the driving was becoming more and more tempting with each journey they took though she was determined not to let him know that. She could already picture the gleam of triumph which would come to his eyes if she let it slip.

The passenger door opened and Steve climbed in, turning to Danni as he closed the door behind her and spoke.

"We're in the car now, so what's troubling you." He stated, pulling his seatbelt on.

"Nothing is troubling per say" Danni told him with a shrug. "I'm just slightly curious about why you want me to bring the surveillance equipment to your father's house to store rather than me bringing it back to our headquarters."

Steve leaned back slightly in his chair, his eyes searching her face before he looked away, stretching his long legs out in front of him, a shuttered look coming to his face.

"Normally we would keep anything like this at the headquarters Danni but at this moment in time it's not a viable option when we're lacking security there." He stated. "The Police Department are not going to sign off the laser wire equipment to you if you don't have somewhere to store it, they would simply tell you to come back tomorrow morning to get it which would cause issues for us. I don't want us to have to waste time going to pick it up tomorrow morning especially since Chin is trying to have Kamekona arrange the meet in the early morning period. If he manages it then that will give us just about enough time to brief Kono so she knows exactly what to do if the op goes south for some reason. On top of that you, me and Chin still need to get ourselves into a good location so we can hear everything and intervene if need be without being spotted by Sang Min or his men."

"You are aware that if I tell them that I plan to store the equipment overnight at a residential address then they won't sign it out to me either" Danni said softly into the silence, turning her head in time to see Steve shrug at the remark.

"Then don't tell them that it will be a residential address, tell them that you'll store it at our headquarters. I highly doubt they will send someone to check it out and if for some bizarre reason they do then we'll simply tell them that you hadn't returned to the headquarters yet to do the initial drop off." Steve told her.

Danni stared at him for a moment before she looked away, sticking the key in the ignition and turned it, pulling out of the car park space and towards the exit before she spoke again.

"Why pick your father's house as an alternative store place for it, especially if no one will be there with it." She queried as she pulled into the main road and headed in the direction of the McGarrett family home.

"Because I'll be staying there with it tonight, I doubt anyone can get passed me so the equipment will be safe there" Steve told her.

"You're staying there tonight?" Danni repeated, a mixture of horror and sympathy flooding her at the thought of Steve being in the same house as where his father was a murdered. A house where his father's blood and brain matter still coated the floor and walls of one of the rooms.

"That's what I said Danni" Steve said shortly as he slipped the notebook he was still holding into one of the many pockets of his cargo pants before he tilted his head away from her and stared at the passing scenery instead, his body thrumming with tension which Danni instantly picked up on.

Danni opened her mouth to say something but instead closed it, choosing instead to remain silent and focus her attention on the road in front of her while her mind slipped into work mode and began slotting the new pieces of the puzzle which they had learned that day with the old ones and created a whole new picture, a picture which made the McGarrett case a complicated one.

She couldn't shake the thought of Steve staying in his father's house either. If the whole point of having the equipment at the house because Steve would be there to protect it if anything happened then surely, he could do that just as well from the hotel room which she knew he had booked, especially since the house was still technically an active crime scene and would remain so until they closed the case.

Danni didn't care how much training a person was given, finding yourself face to face with something like that was enough to affect anyone. Even if that person was Steve McGarrett.

She wanted to say something to him about it, to point out to him what a bad decision it was to be making but she couldn't. Steve wasn't going to listen to her opinion on the matter of where he should be staying. He had clearly already deciding in his mind that his father house was where he was going to stay and that was it. If he believed that he had the mental strength to be able to stay then then she would simply have to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he could manage regardless of her own feeling of unease over it.

Danni pushed the thoughts from her mind as she tilted her hand on the steering wheel, exposing both her wrist and watch and read the time with a frown. It was already ten to six.

"Steve" She said, turning to him and waiting until his attention moved from the window and to her instead. "I don't think I'm going to have the time to collect the Sang Min file this evening, not if I still need to get the surveillance equipment from the police departments and bring it back to your father's place for storage. Duncan will be dropping Gracie home in about an hour or so and I have to be at the house when they get there. I'm going to be pushing it as it is." She admitted.

Steve frowned slightly at the comment before he nodded at her.

"That's fine Danni, your daughter comes first" He remarked. "I'll call Chin once I'm inside and ask him to contact the correct department to get a search for it going. There's always a chance however slim it might be that they can locate it straight away, if they manage it and you're still there…"

"Then I'll try and pick it up on my way back to the car and drop it off here the same time as I drop the equipment off here." She agreed with a nod.

"Good" He commented, turning his attention back to the window again. Danni's eyes flickered over to him as she nibbled at her lower lip, pulling the car into the road where the house was built and pulling to a stop by the kerb in front of it. "How long do you think it will take you to get back here with what we need?" He asked her suddenly.

Danni considered the question for a split second before shrugging at him.

"Hopefully not long if everything goes without a hitch, maybe about thirty minutes or so." She commented thoughtfully. "If there is a delay or a problem then I can call you" She stated, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel.

Steve raised an eyebrow at her,

"Do you even have my cell number?" He asked her curiously, his other eyebrow joining the first one when she nodded at him, unable to keep the small smile from her face at his blatant surprise.

"Indeed, I do" She replied simply. "After all, you aren't the only one who has connections they can use to find out information Steve now out you go because I have to get going now." She told him, nodding towards the passenger door. Steve nodded, climbing out the door and closed the door behind him without a look back at her. Danni watched as Steve made his way up the path towards the front door, waiting only long enough to ensure he was in the house before she drove away,

It didn't take her long before she reached her destination. She grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and exited the car, heading straight into the police station. She made her way towards the elevator, waiting impatiently for a couple of minutes until one suddenly arrived. She stepped in, hitting the button for the fourth floor and ignored the few other people who also entered. Instead she fished out her cell phone from her bag and pressed down on the number three button, bringing the handset and listened to the sound of ringing before it was finally picked up.

"Detective Hanamoa"

Danni smiled at the annoyed voice of her former partner, clearly there was something which was pissing him off if that tone had been any indication for her to go by.

"Hello Detective Hanamoa, this is Detective Williams here" She stated as the elevator came to a stop on her floor, she brushed past someone and stepped out, continuing to speak as she did. "I am currently on the fourth floor of your building on my way to pick up some surveillance equipment. I'm assuming by how pissed off your sound that you may still be at your desk, no doubt staring at a report on your computer screen while your mind is actually at home already wishing you were about to eat the dinner which Amy has probably made for you. Am I right?" She queried.

"You got it in one as usual" Meka confirmed on a sigh. "So, your new boss man has sent you in to get equipment then, which begs the question as to why you are calling me."

"Well I'm glad you asked me that Meka" Danni responded brightly with a smile as she moved out of the way of a small group who were coming down the corridor in the opposite direction. "I was hoping you could pack my desk up for me and then meet me down at the reception in say ten minutes or so?" She asked him. "I would do it myself but not only am I beginning to run out of time to get home to be there when Duncan drops Grace off but I really don't want to ever have to step back into the Detective bul-pen of this place unless there is really no other option. The less I have to do with them all now, the better and we both know the comments that will already be floating around that place because of my promotion." She said with a shake of her head.

Meka fell silent for a moment before he answered her, a rare sympathetic note coming to his voice.

"There have been a few theories, the favourite of which seems to be the belief that you seduced McGarrett while at his house earlier which was why he gave you the job."

Danni snorted at the comment, ignoring the flicker of anger she felt at the accusation.

"Of course, that's what they think" She said bitterly. "Because that is of course the only way a woman can get a good job according to them."

"Hey, don't let them get to you Danni, anyone who knows you knows that you got the job off your own merits. Ignore what they have to say, it's not like their opinions matter in any fashion right?"

"Right" Danni agreed

"As to your request I can do that for you, hopefully it will knock off some of those tally marks from your fridge for me." He remarked, sounding amused over the line.

"Well it would certainly be a start" She replied back, her anger easing away when he laughed over the line and hung up on her. Danni shook her head as she slipped her cell back into her bag and pulled open the door which led to where she wanted to go. The room was empty apart from one lone female officer who was sat behind the counter, her eyes lowered down as though she was reading something. Danni couldn't blame her, the few times when she had to man a desk when she had first been starting out were some of the most boring moments which she had on the job.

The woman looked up at the sound of Danni's heels and shot her a curious look before her dark eyes narrowed to the badge which Danni wore around her neck. She looked fairly young, perhaps in her early thirties with dark hair which had been pulled back into a bun.

"I'll be with you in just one moment Detective, I just need to finish this quickly" The woman said with a nod at her. Danni nodded back, looking around the large room as she did, her mind wandering back to Steve and what he would be doing at that moment. No doubt he had already started trying to decode the notebook. It felt strange not having him standing right behind her. It had only been a few hours since they had started working with each other but she was already surprisingly used to having him there. "Sorry about the wait Detective, how can I help you today?"

Danni blinked, coming out of her thoughts and instead turned to the woman in front of her and smiled.

"I need to book out the laser wire surveillance equipment please" She requested politely. The officer nodded at her, looking towards the side of her at a large notebook which was open. Danni waited, resisting the urge to look down at her watch as the woman flicked through some of the pages before she slowly nodded to herself again.

"It looks like today is your lucky day Detective" The officer said, looking back up with a smile at her. "The equipment was just returned an hour ago by the last department who had last used it. All that I need from you is your name, rank, badge number, department and the reason behind your request for it." She stated.

"Yeah, that is no problem" Danni replied, waiting until the woman had finished searching through the papers on her desk before she made a humming sound and produced a pen, quickly uncapping it she looked back at Danni with an expectant look on her face.

"What is your name and rank please?" She stated.

"It's Detective Sergeant Danielle Williams" Danni answered, her gaze flickering to the clock behind the officer on the wall. She still had a little bit of time left before she needed to be back at Steve's house. If she got there within the next thirty minutes or so then she would have the chance to talk to him.

"Good" The officer said, swiftly filling out the details. "And your badge number please?"

"Its 7576" Danni replied.

"Okay and lastly your department and the reason behind your request." The woman responded.

"I work for the new Governor task force which has been set up and the reason for the equipment if for an undercover operation." Danni told her, meeting the woman's eyes when she shot her a quick searching look before writing the information down.

"If you could sign the bottom of the paper please Detective Williams then I'll go and get the equipment for you."

"No problem" Danni responded, reaching out and taking the pen and paper which, the officer passed over to her, she quickly signed it, placing it on the counter top and waited impatiently for the woman to return from the backroom with the equipment. She glanced towards her bag when her phone suddenly went off and quickly pulled it out, frowning at the unfamiliar number even as she answered it. "Detective Williams."

"Hey Danni, it's Chin" Came the already familiar voice of Chin Ho Kelly over the line. "I've just gotten off the phone to the file unit. They are beginning to search for the file but they won't probably locate it until tomorrow morning so there's no point in you waiting around in the precinct for it. Have you managed to get the surveillance equipment yet?"

"I've filled out the forms and signed for them, I'm just currently waiting for the Officer to return with it all and then I'll be out of here to make the delivery to Steve" Danni told him, looking up at smiling at the officer when she came back out of the room holding a large box in her arms. "Chin, I've got to go, it looks like I'm going to need both my hands for this" Danni stated, finishing the call and putting her cell back in her bag as she took a step up to the counter.

"Here you go Detective Williams. The equipment is signed out for twenty-four hours, if you need it for any longer period of time then you'll have to return on the day it's due to extend the period." The officer explained before giving Danni a doubtful look. "Are you going to be okay with this? It's kind of heavy and…" Her voice trailed off leaving her looking embarrassed.

"I appreciate the concern but I'm stronger then I look" Danni assured her, taking the box from her. It was heavy, but not heavy enough that she couldn't handle it for a short period of time. "Thank you for your help" Danni called over her shoulder as she headed to the door and through it. She made her way back to the main foyer of the building, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Meka standing, waiting for her holding a box for her. "Any chance we can swap?" Danni called out, breathing a sigh of relief when he hurried over to her, automatically taking the heavy equipment from her.

"Trying to be super woman again?" Meka asked, adjusting the box and passing her the other one filled with her belongings, a box which was a lot lighter and easier to manage.

"I don't have to try to be super woman Meka, I am super woman." Danni teased back, flashing him a grin as they headed out of the building and towards where Danni had parked the car.,

"So, you keep saying" Meka responded with a laugh.

"Thanks for packing my desk up for me, I didn't think there would be as much left as there was, I thought the others would have attacked my desk the moment I was gone to get my stuff." Danni remarked, peering down into the box she was holding.

"They tried but luckily for you I was stuck at my desk once I got back from Doran's trailer so they didn't get the opportunity to do it, Detective Yana tried but after I placed him in an arm lock he realised the errors of his ways and backed off." Meka replied casually with a shrug.

"My hero" Danni said dryly before grinning widely at him. She unlocked the car and opened the trunk putting her box in and closing it once Meka had done the same.

"Why do you need the equipment anyway?" He asked curiously as he took a step back.

"It's for an undercover operation, I'll fill you in on the details later on okay, I have to get going. I still need to take the equipment back to the location we're storing it and then I need to hightail it back to my place before Duncan gets there. I'll call you later and if you get home before I call then tell Amy that I'm sorry I haven't returned her call yet, things have just been…" She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Manic"

"I can imagine and don't worry I'll let her know" Meka promised with a wave before he turned and headed back into the building.

Danni climbed into the car and started the engine, quickly pulling out of the space and driving towards the McGarrett house. A glance at the clock in her dashboard had her stepping on the accelerator pedal, speeding through the streets before she came to a stop outside the McGarrett house. Danni pushed the door open, closing it behind her and quickly went to the trunk, selecting the box with the surveillance equipment and headed up the path to the door. She stated at it for a moment before knocking and trying the door, surprised when it easily opened granted her access to the house.

"Hey" Steve said, glancing up from where he was based in the living room. "Come in Danni"

"Sure" Danni responded, closing the door behind her before she headed across the room and to the wooden table which Steve was standing by. She dropped the box on it with a thankful sigh before focusing on Steve when he spoke again.

"Was there any problem getting the equipment?"

"None" She answered him with a shake of her head. "We have it for twenty-four hours, if we need it for longer than that then we'll need to completed a secondary form to extend our time with it. Chin rang me while I was there, he's requested the Sang Min file but they told him that it won't be ready until at least tomorrow. If he is still at the office though then it may be an idea for you to call him and tell him to contact them again to see if they can fax over any important parts of the files if they find it, like his past record."

"I can do that" Steve said sounding distracted. "Have a quick look at this and tell me if you recognise this guy at all." Danni raised an eyebrow at the remark but shifted round the table so she was standing beside him. She looked at the screen, her gaze landing on the back and white picture on it. It was a close up of a man who looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties with wavy dark hair and a beard, Dark eyes stared out with an impassive expression though it was hard to tell from the picture whether they would be dark in person. Danni stared at the face, searching her mind for any form of recognition but there was none. She hadn't seen the man before in her life.

"His face isn't ringing any bells with me Steve" She admitted as she stood straight, crossing her arms over her stomach as she tilted her head to the side so she could see Steve's face. "Who is he? Is this the guy who was with Hesse at your Father's place? The one who you mentioned earlier who your friend in the Navy was looking through their databases for?" She queried as she met his eyes. Steve nodded at her.

"Cath sent it to me about twenty minutes ago, according to the records she was able to dig up this man is called Jovan Etienne." He told her.

"Jovan Etienne" Danni repeated, looking back towards the screen. "Have we got anything else on him other than his name that he can use? What exactly does he do for a living?"

"Cath sent the files to us to look at, I scanned through them a bit, turns out that Etienne is a man who worked for the Russians as a computer expert and programmer in the SVR"

"He's listed as a computer programmer?" Danni asked with a frown. "Well in that case I guess that is a polite way of saying that he is a hacker who worked for the Russians hacking into whatever it was that they felt like hacking into on that particular week." She remarked, biting down on her lower lip when Steve nodded at her.

"Yeah, who knows that information he had discovered in the past and passed on to the highest bidder, if we can bring him in then we should be able to get some information about that from him." Steve said before frowning slightly. "It's likely that he is going to be the one who matched the partial footprint which I found round the back of the house.

"The footprint?" Danni stated in surprise. "HPD ran that footprint and thy didn't come up with anything on it. They said that it was just a normal, everyday footprint Steve. How do you know that it doesn't belong to Hesse?"

"The print was too small for Hesse, I'm guessing from what I saw of it that the wearer of the boot is a size nine, maybe a nine and a half at a stretch. Hesse wears a size eleven shoe like I do, except that he wears double E. Not only that Danni but Hesse gets his footwear custom made. He gets polyurethane directly injected into the mid sole with a nitrile rubber outsole. There is nothing generic or everyday about his shoes." Steve explained.

Danni blinked at him, standing up straight and looking at Steve with a long look.

"I don't know what is actually scarier. The fact that Hesse is apparently vain when it comes to his footwear or the fact that you know that detail about him. Your mind must be a frightening place to live in at times Steve" She stated before she shook her head. "And on that happy note, I should be heading out. Text me the correct spelling of Etienne's name and that photo of him. I'll call the judge on duty and get a warrant for the footage from the airport for the last month. Now that I know what this guy looks like I should be able to find him on the tapes if he flew in. I get the feeling that this hit on your father was not his only reason for being here." She remarked over her shoulder as she headed towards the front door.

"You don't want to stay for a quick beer?" Steve asked her suddenly. Danni stopped by the door, turning back to him as she glanced down at her watch.

"I would have stayed if you had wine and I could" She told him. "But I have to get back to my place for Grace, she'll be arriving in thirty minutes and it's going to take at least twenty-five minutes to get to my place from here. Call me later though if you find anything, I'll have my cell with me" She said, flashing him a smile as she turned and left the house, closing the door behind her and tried to ignore the feeling of guilt which sprung up in the pit of her stomach at her rejection of his offer. She wished she could have taken him up on it, just to be able to keep him company for a bit in that house, but there was simply no way of doing it and she knew it.

She rang the judge, quickly getting the warrant which, she needed and which the judge assistant helpfully sent to the airport for her so that when she rang them they agreed to email her the information she needed.

Danni pulled into her driveway and exited the car, feeling exhaustion pulling at her as she entered her home, quickly dealing with the security alarm. She went through her normal routine of checking every room before switching on the main lights. She probably should have gotten herself something to eat but at that one moment in time she couldn't bring herself to go through the effort of making something, instead making a mental note to grab something once Grace was in bed.

Danni had just about enough time to take a long hot shower before she changed into a pair of shorts and vest top and throw her dress into the clothes hamper. She had just tied her hair back into a messy ponytail when she heard a familiar knock at the door, breathing out a sigh of relief, Danni made her way down the stairs and to the front door which she opened before dropping to her knees and pulling Grace into a long hug, burying her face into her daughter's long dark hair and allowed the familiar scent to ease some of the tension in her.

"Mamma, I'm so glad to be home" Grace stated happily, hugging Danni back tightly as she buried her own face into Danni's neck.

"I'm glad that you're home as well baby" Danni told her, with a final squeeze before she stood back up, resting one hand on Grace's slim shoulder. "Say goodnight to your Dad Gracie and then go into the living room okay?" She told her daughter her nodded at her.

"Night Daddy, love you" Grace said as she turned and hugged Duncan tightly, squealing happily when Duncan lifted her off the floor, covering her face in kisses before he lowered her to the ground.

"Night Gracie, sleep well and thank you for being the best date ever. I love you baby girl." He said with a grin at her which Grace returned before the small girl turned and skipped down the hallway, disappearing through the door which led to the living room.

Danni turned back to Duncan, automatically taking in the smart black suit which he was wearing, the tie which had clearly been round his neck had been discarded and shoved into a pocket of his suit jacket if the flash of green she could see peeking out was any indication to go. As much as she hated to admit it, her ex-husband looked extremely handsome.

"How did it go tonight? Were there any problems?" She asked him curiously, automatically lowering her voice out of habit.

"None at all" He replied as he leaned against the door frame for a moment, his green eyes focusing on her. "Grace was as good as gold as usual, kept by my side, didn't run off anywhere and was polite to everyone who she met."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it, what about the food? What did she eat?" Danni pressed, ignoring the amused smile which came to Duncan's face at her obvious concern.

"I watched her liked a hawk as usual Danni" He remarked. "She ate a couple of ham sandwiches, a handful of crisps and some mini sausages and sausage rolls. The bank had provided a buffet for everyone this time round so I made sure she kept away from the rich food. She was disappointed that I wouldn't let her have the chocolate cake but I promised her instead that I would take her out for an ice cream the next time I picked her up from school."

"That's a relief, hopefully she should have no issues during the night then." Danni said with a smile. "How did it go for you? Did you woo the clients?"

"One or two big ones, we'll just have to see where it goes. If we get one of the contacts then it may mean that I need to head over to Japan for a couple of weeks to work on it but the minute I know for sure is the minute you'll know." Duncan told her.

"Yeah do, if you're going away for two weeks then maybe we can work something out so you get to have Grace a couple of days more during the week before to make up for it?" She offered, smiling when his face brightened up at the suggestion.

"That would be great if we could." He said before taking a step back. "I should get going, I've got an early meeting tomorrow so I need to prepare for it. I'll call you soon Danni, have a good week" He commented, leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek before turning and walking down the path. Duncan had never quite broken the habit of kissing her on the cheek when he was saying goodbye but it was something which she let slide, knowing that there was nothing romantic behind it, merely a friend saying goodbye to another friend.

Danni shook her head, waiting until he had reached the sleek blue car at the end of their driveway and had climbed in before hitting the button to the side of her which would automatically open the gates from within. She waved at him, hitting the button again once he had driven away before she closed the door and headed into the living room, smiling at Grace who grinned back at her happily from where she was seated on the sofa, still in the fancy green dress which she was wearing, a dress which matched the colour of Duncan's tie telling her that Duncan had picked the tie on purpose to match their daughter.

"So then, how did tonight go on a scale of one to ten, one being the worst experience ever and ten being one which blew your mind." Danni asked as she dropped onto the sofa beside Grace, her smile growing when Grace immediately snuggled close to her.

"A six" grace responded after a pause. "It was fun spending time with Daddy and the food was really nice but it got a bit boring when Daddy had to speak to the other men and woman in suits and they all wanted to talk to him Mamma. I stayed close to him though to keep him company." She stated firmly, tilting her head so she could look at Danni who smiled back at her, one hand coming up automatically to stroke Grace's dark hair.

"I bet that made your Daddy happy knowing that you were there with him" Danni responded. "And what about school? How did that go today?"

"It was good, all my friends and the rest of the class loved Mr Hoppy Mamma, Ms Clarke said that I could leave him in the classroom today because I told her that we didn't have a proper place to put him yet but that we were definitely going to go and get him everything he needed tomorrow once school had ended."

"That was nice of Ms Clarke to do that, I hope you thanked her for it" Danni said, moving back slightly so she could see Grace's face when the small girl nodded at her.

"I did" Grace promised. "We are going to get the stuff for Mr Hoppy right Mamma?" Grace pressed hopefully.

"Yes, we are indeed getting the stuff tomorrow as soon as I pick you up from school." Danni replied, kissing the top of Grace's head before she sighed and forced herself to her feet. "But that is tomorrow and we still haven't finished with today yet. It's time for you to have your evening bath and go to bed. Put your dress in the hamper so I can wash it on Sunday okay? We both have a busy day tomorrow to get through and we need to be ready to face it" Danni said as she held out her hand to Grace and pulled her to her feet when the small girl took it. They went up the stairs, Grace bounding into her room while Danni headed into the main bathroom and popped the plug in before turning the cold water tap on.

"Why have we got a busy day tomorrow Mamma?" Grace asked as she re-entered the bathroom holding her pyjama's which she dumped on the floor and began pulling her dress off.

"We have a busy day tomorrow because we have to go and get Mr Hoppy everything which he needed and tomorrow Uncle Meka and co and Uncle Ryan might be coming around for some homemade lasagne and garlic bread." Danni told her, turning the cold water tap off and instead turning the hot one on, grinning when Grace cheered out loud at the news.

It was moments like this which made everything else which she did worthwhile.

It didn't take long for Grace to finish her bath and to be put to bed. Danni read her a chapter from the Harry Potter book they were reading before she kissed her goodnight, pulling the door to behind her as she left her daughter's room. Danni left the landing light on as she headed down the stairs and into the living room where her laptop was. She opened it, quickly bringing up the email which contained the videos as she requested. She quickly connected the laptop to the TV and hit the play button, her eyes fixed on the screen as she began to fast forward through as much as she could.

She must have been working on it for about two hours when her cell phone went off distracting her, grabbing it she answered it without bother to look at the ID screen,

"Williams."

"Hey it's me, have you had any luck with the surveillance film from the airport yet?" Steve asked her. Danni settled back on the sofa, pressing the pause button for a moment before turning her attention back to the call and answering him.

"I haven't seen anything yet" She told him. "But I've only been at it for about two hours so far. If he is somewhere on these tapes though then I'll find him Steve don't worry about that. What about you though? How is the effort to decode the notebooks going for you?"

"I'm getting through it. I was able to locate my notes from the last time. Hesse has adjusted the code slightly but not enough that I can't use what I already know to break it. I've managed about fifteen pages of it so far. It's mainly talking about deals which are currently going down or which have just finished."

"How many more pages are left for you to decode?" She asked him curiously.
"About thirty-five give or take" He answered instantly, the quickness of his response bringing a quick smile to her face.

"It sounds like you still have a few pages to get through then" Danni remarked as she leaned forward again and pressed the play button on her laptop, restarting the images.

"Did you get back to your home before your ex and daughter did?" Steve asked suddenly, the change in the subject causing Danni to blink in surprise.

"Yeah Duncan arrived about ten minutes after I did" She answered him.

"You know maybe one day you can tell me about why your marriage failed" Steve commented. Danni opened her mouth to give him a sharp retort before she stopped herself. This conversation was probably Steve's way of trying to keep his mind occupied and off everything which had happened to him. It was better to keep him mind occupied with the trivial stuff then to have the constant reminder that he was currently staying in the house where his own father had been murdered three days previously.

"Yeah sure" She replied finally. "As soon as you tell me what is in the tool box which you took from the crime scene earlier. You know the box which changed everything it seems." She commented, listening and smiling slightly when she heard the low, amused huffing sound which he made in response to her comment.

"The truth is that I don't know what it holds yet Danni. All I know is that my father spent the last few minutes of his life trying to guide me to the box and what it contained without making it obvious to Hesse and Etienne that he was. Whatever is inside it, was important enough for him to do that but at the moment all it is a puzzle which I'm going to have to solve. I need to know what it is." He stated, a hint of desperation to his voice which she picked up on.

"That'd understandable all things considered." Danni replied gently. "You should know though that Grace and I like puzzles and we're very good at working them out and solving them so we'll be here if you need some help with it." She told him, her eyes still on the screen in front of her. She suddenly surged forward, hitting the pause button and moved towards the TV, phone still to her ear, as she dropped to her knees and stared at the tall man who was wearing a baseball cap and keeping his head down low.

"You're a good mother Danni" Steve commented quietly attracting her attention.

"Well I certainly try to be, whether I actually succeed at it, is another matter altogether" She replied, leaning forward towards the TV again with a frown. The man could definitely be Etienne, the glimpses of the face which she could see looked familiar to the photo which Steve had forwarded to her like she had asked.

"Danni…" Steve began to say, stopping when Danni spoke over him, the words escaping from her like a dam being cracked.

"Look there was three way which I can look at the situation isn't there. The first one is that I could end up getting myself killed on a case or by chasing some scumbag like Doran and then what sort of mother would I be to Grace? I'll tell you the sort I would be, I would be the dead kind and she would have to spend the rest of her life growing up without me which in turn could lead to her resenting me for putting myself in the situation which led to me dying by being a Detective in the first place."

"You say that Danni but I am the kid of a cop remember and I always looked up to my father for being willing to take all those risks to help other people" Steve stated. "He made a lot of sacrifices over the years trying to help as many people as he could. I'm sure your daughter feels the same way about you and what you do."

"Who knows whether she does or doesn't. I don't know which one it is but what I do know is that I need this. I'm good at being a Detective and call it crazy but I like doing what I'm good at knowing that I am making a difference to someone else's life. If it means that I now have to put up with you and your tunnel vision and the belief that what you do or say is always right then so be it. That is something I can deal with." She remarked, moving the video on and freezing it again when the man looked up, giving the camera a clear shot of his face and the dark hair, which escaped from beneath the brim on the hat he was wearing.

"Well that is good to know" Steve answered, sounding almost amused. "And what about the third reason? What is that one?"

"Well whether this move to Hawaii ends up being permanent or not it still mine and Grace's home at the moment and therefore it is my job to keep the island as safe as possible for my daughter to live happily on. I have to do that for her Steve." There was a silence between them which was strangely comforting before Danni forced herself to break it and bring the topic back to work. "I've found Etienne on the footage by the way." She remarked.

"Wait you found him? When did he arrive in Hawaii?" Steve demanded, his tone becoming more commanding.

"He arrived five days before your father was murdered so on the 15th" Danni said, glancing down at the date on the footage. "Give me a second and I'll send you a picture of it" She took the cell from her ear and went into the camera option, zooming in on the TV screen and taking a picture of the still which she quickly sent on to Steve. "I've sent it to you via text, have a look and tell me if you agree with me." She stated.

There was the sound of buttons being pressed, followed by a silence before Steve spoke again.

"That looks like him" Steve agreed before a loud beeping sound came across the line. "Give me a moment Danni, I'm just getting another call coming through, stay there"

"Staying here" She agreed before pressing the start button again and watched as Etienne moved through the crowd, glancing around him carefully as though he was scoping out the people around him. His eyes flickered over to the camera once as though he was locating them before moving on. He was good but he wasn't the subtlest man who she had come across during an investigation.

"Hey, are you still there Danni?" Steve asked, attracting her attention again.

"I'm still here" She replied absently, her eyes scanning the screen as Etienne handed his passport over to the immigration Officer behind the check in counter. She froze the screen again, smiling slightly. There was a chance if she handed the footage to Chin that he would be able to enhance the image so they could see the alias name which Etienne was using while in Hawaii, something which would make tracking his movements a lot easier to do.

"Thar was Chin who called, Sang Min has brought out pitch. He's set up a meeting with Kono tomorrow and nine thirty in the morning at a warehouse on the other side of the island near the docks." Steve stated.

"That is good news, looks like Kamekona came through for us after all" She remarked, her mind drifting briefly back to the man in question before she spoke again. "We have to remain realistic though Steve. We have no guarantee that he is going to tell us where Hesse is or give us the information that we need from him. This man is smart, we just have to hope that he is not smarter than us." She advised him.

"He has to Danni, this is the only chance I have of finding the man who killed my father." Steve said. Danni sighed softly at the undercurrent of emotion in her partner's voice.

"I need to go" She said. "It's getting late and we both need to get some sleep so we're at the top of our game tomorrow. Make sure you've had something to eat as well."

"Pick me up at mine tomorrow around seven thirty Danni" Steve remarked after a slight pause.

"It will have to be eight fifteen Steve, I still have to take Grace to school, fortunately her school is fairly close to where you live so I can swing by and pick you up on my way into the office." Danni replied.

"Eight fifteen it is, good work with the footage Danni" He stated before he hung up on her.

Danni looked at the phone in her hand, biting down on her lower lip before she sighed and came to her feet, stretching her arms above her head before she turned the TV off and headed towards the staircase and her bed.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day, she was sure of it.

Author Note

Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it.

I really appreciate it