I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: thanks everyone for the continued kind reviews! CinderH, Jazzie and Synbou === saving the plot as always for me! thanks for the last minute Beta AGAIN when the evil nasty muse gets an idea! I'm catching up on returning emails - I'm sorry for the delay.

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Chapter 12

After calling Mike, much of the attention turned towards Danny who was finally feeling the beneficial effects of the morphine. Unsteady on his feet for a new reason, the doctor shrewdly sent him packing to sleep. Though he felt better, Danny still had some deep aches that stubbornly only dulled to a manageable roar. All of which were the core reason for the problematic blood pressure. Part of him felt useless and almost guilty to lie down, but his body had other ideas and Steve was already drawing the shades against the broken sunlight that was coming through storm clouds that were finally dispersing. It was amazingly still early in the morning and with an house full of nursemaids, Danny had plenty of time for a decent rest before lunch and other plans were made with the Ramirez's.

in the refuge of the spare bedroom, he was literally shaking with fatigue as Steve pushed him to sit. "Doc says your blood pressure is still too low. What's this about agreeing so quickly to a follow-up exam?"

"I can't get comfortable." Danny admitted as he unconsciously rubbed near the center of his chest again and grimaced at the pain that had only slightly let up in intensity. "It's a little hard to breathe sometimes."

Steve frowned at the rare honesty of the words but Ramirez was the best and he'd readily gotten his usually rambunctious partner to agree to more tests. The doctor thought it important but not an emergency, so bed rest was his first choice and priority.

"Go to sleep, Danno. We'll keep the girls occupied for the morning. Ponch will schedule the follow-up himself and when the roads are clear, we'll probably all go to the hospital." Steve was subdued and massaging his own injured arm which ached, but not nearly as badly as his partner's deep bruising which was now creating a series of alarming side effects.

"Good news for a change." Danny could barely keep his eyes opened as Grace came in with a new ice pack and for a quick last minute visit. She curled up against his side to give him a kiss and a happy grin.

"She's nice. I like Becca. She's brave." Grace whispered as she carefully hugged him. "Doctor Ramirez says she's sick but he can make her feel better. He says that you'll be okay too if you take a nap."

She had settled down closely to him in her concern and was rubbing his cold fingers in her own. She was very worried that her father and her new friend were both feeling sick at the same time. Ponch had also warned everyone that both would likely need to go to the hospital for checkups which was equally disappointing.

"It's okay, Grace. I'm going to take that nap and be up and about later." Danny nodded and grinned tiredly at Steve who was gently escorting Grace from the bed. None of them could be happier with the change in events and the Ramirez' joy in finding the long lost little girl but he was suddenly completely drained. In another attempt to control the deep ache that now felt like he'd eaten the worst meal in the history of the world, Danny rolled onto his right side and tried to ease the tightness in his chest but it did little to help. The ice pack and the medication were only doing so much to lessen the pain to a more manageable level.

Danny fell asleep eventually and then slept for hours but woke feeling not as well rested as he might have liked. Leaving the bedroom, he was surprised to find it nearing one o'clock in the afternoon. Steve was sleeping soundly in the recliner and the girls were on the lanai with both Ponch and Ellen quietly coloring together in the sunshine.

As soon as the couple noticed his arrival, they were immediately all over him for his hunched posture and pale complexion. Minutes later, Ponch was making a fuss once more about the renewed level of pain he still seemed to be in.

"Hospital. I'm sorry but it can't be avoided now." Ramirez leaned back in the chair where he had once more taken Danny's blood pressure and respiration. He was concerned about the diagnosis of the lesser chest contusion and now leaning back towards the ER doctor's original prognosis of a more serious lung contusion.

"These things can show up after the fact, Danny. I'd like to be sure."

Grace made a miserable face as tears pricked her eyes in concern while listening to the latest verdict. She looked up as Steve joined them and his yawn stopped mid stretch when he saw her watery expression. He listened to Ponch's growing concerns as he removed his stethoscope.

"You have me worried. So I'd like to have that EKG done today and another CT scan. We left our truck within walking distance and if you can manage, we can go now. I'd like to check Rebecca out as well to make absolutely certain that we aren't dealing with pneumonia." Becca looked up from the opposite side of the table and frowned at her Aunt Ellen. Both had promised no nasty needles, but still the idea of a hospital was scary and she wasn't at all happy about going.

Ellen gave her a wry grin and rolled her eyes which made Becca's frown evaporate into a matching giggle. To keep the happy tone, Ellen leaned over to whisper loudly. "When you feel better, you and I are going to have a girl's day out. Grace can come if she wants too. I'd like to get you some new clothes. Would you like that?"

The smile said yes as Becca looked at Grace who obviously thought it sounded like a wonderful idea. "Good. Then it's a plan!" Ellen announced happily as she glanced carefully to the men who were discussing the best way to leave with the volume of noise increasing outside. Steve's truck was mired in his driveway and Ponch's truck was briefly wedged between two road crews as the sounds of chainsaws and loud trucks created an ear-splitting racket on the main street. When Ponch asked, the foreman thought it would be only a short delay before they could leave in at least one of the vehicles as the crews removed the downed trees and wires.

Stuck for the short time, Grace at least wanted to go outside and watch, but Becca was still tired and wanted to remain inside with her Aunt.

"Danno, can we watch closer?" Grace was interested in the massive tree removal and she wanted to just take a peek at the big machinery. Uncomfortable sitting, Danny agreed as he followed her out the front door. Once the one tree was broken down and carted away, they'd all go to TAMC in the Ramirez's SUV as the county crew moved along to their next big project.

"Sure, Monkey. Why not." He grinned and ambled slowly behind her and down the driveway.

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Two crewmen watched the officer and little girl meander towards the main crew and they smiled to each other. This was going to be easier than they thought as they watched the dark-haired ten-year old walk directly towards them. She'd come down the driveway of the house they'd been watching for nearly half the morning. She obviously wanted a better view of the tree removal and they couldn't believe their sheer luck.

"Is that the kid?"

"Yup, that's her. Frank wants her today. This should be a no brainer if you distract the cop, I'll grab the kid."

They certainly looked the part of town workers as they picked up a spare hard hat here, and then a pair of orange work gloves there. Anything tossed haphazardly in the bed of a truck or left within easy reach of any open truck door or window. By the time they'd walked casually down one quarter of the street, they looked as if they absolutely belonged. One grinned as he tossed a shovel over his shoulder and headed towards the slowly walking police officer. On his way, he used it casually to roughly scoop up debris to toss into the closest wheelbarrow as he closed the distance on his target.

"It's so big, Danno!" Grace was impressed by the two massive trees that had come down on Steve's street sometime during the night to completely block anyone from coming in or going out. He and Grace watched the major affair that included chainsaws, commercial sized wood chippers and at least four town dump trucks. Electrical workers were up on poles on their heels as they tried to repair the downed wires along the way. Further down yet, flooding still required that two side streets remain closed until further notice.

Danny sighed as he rubbed his chest uncomfortably and paused at the bottom of Steve's driveway. He was only half paying attention as she put her hands over her ears when a chainsaw came to life across the street. Unable to yell too loudly, he successfully got her attention and waggled a warning finger in her direction.

"Don't get too close, Monkey." Her smile and returned wave brought her to an obedient stop before he needed to worry.

Grace stepped a few feet backwards off the sidewalk as two men walked passed her carrying another chainsaw and a big rope. Before long, she had walked a few feet away from him again to get a closer view of the army of activity. Bored with the wait, Doc Ramirez and Steve also stood together in the driveway by Steve's truck. Steve had already informed the doctor of Amy Wilkerson-Ramirez' murder. and the case as it related to the FBI The obvious assumption was that her death was directly linked to the expensive jewels and the thumb drive of very critical data linked directly to Frank Curtis. But of course, neither man could hazard a guess as to how or why Amy would be involved with what was assumed to be a nefarious criminal element. Ponch described what he knew of Amy's background and how she and Mike had tried to get help after she returned from her last deployment. Steve was shocked to learn more about Joanna Pearce and how Amy had taken refuge more and more in her best friend's strength of memory. Ponch was upset as he digested the information and tried to figure out the best way to tell his brother. Telling Rebecca would be trickier and take much longer to do. The only thing they easily could agree on was the need to get Rebecca home now to her father.

Grace skipped just a little closer as the workers broke the biggest tree into manageable pieces. They were working fast on the opposite side of the street and were actually almost done. The tree had taken down half the neighbor's roof and a gaping black hole was impressive where the bedrooms used to be. Grace waved when they glanced her way and one smiled to playfully rev the chainsaw to make her laugh. Behind her, a hand fell firmly on her shoulder to spin her around in surprise.

"Hi, Kasey." She stumbled to a stop as a strange crewman leered down at her. She could barely hear him above the work going on around them, but his intent was clear. "Care to go for a quick ride?"

"No. Let me go." Grace felt her heart thudding in her chest as she tried to break free from his hand which tightened in warning on her shoulder. "My name isn't Kasey. You must mean Becca, anyway."

The man narrowed his eyes and forced her to back up away from the majority of the activity. He shrugged as he reached for her wrist and then scooped her up around her middle before she realized what was happening. Her frightened scream was loud, piercing and Danny was already on his way with a wild shout of her name which was immediately drowned out again.

"Come on Kasey, you can play your little games on the way to see Mr. Curtis."

"Grace!" Danny's bellow barely reached her ears for the noise on the street. He couldn't get to her for the second man that suddenly rushed him with a shovel in hand.

"No way, cop. You're staying here while we take our little jackpot prize." He had the shovel raised high as he aggressively headed Danny off. With no options, Danny lowered his body to meet the man head on. Ducking low, he timed it perfectly under the first swing to take the attacker down with his right shoulder directly into his assailant's chest. The two hit the ground hard. Too hard and then Danny was done before he even started as his fingers loosened of their own accord and he blacked out briefly from the mind-numbing pain in his chest. In seconds, the man had Danny on his back and a fist rose to beat the helpless Detective into the ground. But before he could take that swing, he was tackled again from the side by an imposing, roaring shape. The two rolled away from Danny in a violent struggle for control.

"Grace." Danny didn't know what happened as he lay sprawled on his back and only mouthed his daughter's name. He heard her petrified shrieks which forced him to crawl forward onto his knees. That was as far as he got and the last thing he saw before he pitched forward into the mud was Steve's shadow and Grace being held by one slim ankle as she failed at getting away.

~ to be continued ~