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

Notes: and now it's time for Grace to kick some butt!

* H50 * H50 * H50 * H50 * H50 *

Chapter 13

When Grace screamed, Ponch and Steve weren't actually sure they had in fact heard anything of the kind. The shrill sound was drowned out by the wood chippers and chain saws on the street near them. Danny was closer though and his bellow of her name unmistakably reached their ears. Steve watched in shock as a worker cut Danny off from his daughter by brandishing a shovel as if it were a baseball bat. With no choice, he watched as Danny barreled full tilt into him in what looked like a pro football tackle. In the distance, he saw Grace struggling and fighting against another man who was trying to half carry and half drag her to a remote corner of the block and towards an idling sedan.

"Ponch! Help him!" He pointed towards Danny and took off on a dead run for the man who had Grace. As he drew closer, he saw that the first man had his work cut out for him as Grace clawed and kicked with all her might. What the guy hadn't bargained for was Grace's dogged fight ... and three very angry, protective men. Grace bit the man hard on the fleshy part of his palm nearest his thumb and he hollered in pain but refused to drop her. Steve was on him before he could raise his fisted hand to pummel her in the head.

Grace screeched in terror as she got rolled to the ground caught up in Steve's attack. Simultaneously trying to protect her in the fall and get the man to let her go, Steve tumbled hard into the wet grass and skidded a few feet through mud to land in a large pool of water. It was enough to shake Grace free though and she took off awkwardly on her hands and knees.

The man was a solid wall of muscle and he virtually growled in anger at Steve as he fell and purposefully went for the white bandage on the injured arm with his fingers. Twisting, grinding and then punching Steve directly in the fresh bullet wound, he heard the man gasp in pain and fall backwards as the bandage immediately darkened red. He leveled another solid punch to Steve's jaw which gave him enough time to gain ground on the little girl as she tried to scramble away.

Leaving Steve stunned on his back, he whirled on Grace and threw himself bodily at her kicking legs.

"Get over here, Kasey! You're as much trouble as your damned mother!" Crying in fear as she squelched through the muddy mess, Grace was unable to get traction only to find her ankle snared again.

"Danno! Uncle .. Steve! Ow!" She fell onto her stomach with a loud oomph as her forward motion was brutally stopped. Rolling on her side, she felt herself sliding uncontrollably back into his arms.

"Uncle Steve!" She was crying hysterically now as the man fisted her shirt with his other hand. Over his shoulder, she could see that Steve's arm was full of blood and hanging almost loosely by his side as he lurched to his feet. Before he could completely get up, Grace took a deep breath as she looked at the man's evil dark eyes. He was laughing at her and determined to take her away. She however, was quite determined to stay. Cocking her knee back almost up to her chin and bracing herself on her elbows, she drove her foot as hard as she could directly into what she thought would be the man's forehead.

"I'm not Kasey!" She screamed as she felt the jarring connection up to her knee and then her ankle was suddenly freed when she practically caved in his nose. Blood spurted instantly as the man gasped in reaction to the stunning mind-numbing shock. She completely missed her Uncle Steve's deviously pleased grin because she didn't have to be told twice to get away back to the house.

"Grace. Run!" He coughed against the pain in his injured arm as he forced it up to grab the attacker around his neck. Using his weight and his good right arm, Steve was in a fury as he wrestled the large man down into the ground.

Holding his face as blood oozed through splayed fingers from his broken nose, the man was off balance and totally unprepared for what happened next. Without warning, he found his face thrust directly into the wet earth where water pooled up to his ears. A sharp knee was in his lower back and two insanely strong hands pinned his shoulders and neck into the suffocating swill of mud, grass and rain water. Legs and hands flailed wildly but he couldn't get purchase on the wet slick skin or push off the ground he was essentially being suffocated by. His hands sunk into the muddy water and did nothing to elevate his body or get the enraged SEAL off his back. A final downwards shove pushed mud into his broken nose and filled his mouth as he gurgled and then choked violently only to inhale the slurry he was trying to avoid. A few seconds later, his body twitched, completely stilled and only then, did Steve roll him over and make a minor attempt to clear his mouth from debris so he might breathe.

Behind him, Ponch and Danny's attacker seemed to be evenly matched but the irate doctor was suddenly much more agile and methodical. As the two got to their feet in a stand-off, Ponch ignored the man's feinting and attempted boxing prowess to just wait for the man to make a mistake. The real crewmen working on the street were coming over to surround the fight with intent to help their own. Until one and then two noticed that Grace was being attacked and that the two men were not actually their friends or co-workers.

Three ran over to help Steve haul his nearly unconscious man to the truck. Stumbling over his own feet, Steve rummaged quickly through the glove compartment for zip ties and a spare set of cuffs. With the extra set of hands, Steve cuffed the man and the zipped his ankles together leaving him lax against the rear tires.

Two other town workers tried to aid Danny on the ground, while a few more surrounded Ponch as he waited for his opportunity. His posture and eyes made the men hesitate in getting directly involved since it was clear the doctor was enjoying himself. Ponch only needed one mistake to be made and he could be a very patient man. As the circle tightened around them, it didn't take long for the man's anger and nervous energy to best any common sense.

After that, Ponch Ramirez's natural response was efficiently fast and seamless as he toyed the man into a situation where he could reach the shovel. Reading his intent, the foreman cocked the long wooden handle upwards with his booted foot and tossed it slyly to the doctor.

"Come on then." Coyly Ponch invited the man to fight as he hefted the would be weapon now in his own hands with a nonchalant ease. As the attacker attempted to copy Danny's earlier move, Ponch side-stepped neatly to the right and took one well-aimed, underhanded swipe that hit home behind the man's knees. It brought him down in a screaming frenzy of pain from a broken leg that was likely shattered in numerous places.

Out of breath and with blood seeping down his arm from the reopened stitches, Steve jogged over to where Danny and Ramirez had the second man. He had taken a sharp angle across his lawn to intercept the large man who had Grace. Out of the corner of his eye, he had registered Danny's determined expression and knew number one wasn't going anywhere even though his partner wasn't up to his best. As he got closer now, he saw that both men did have their man well in hand; Ellen had called 911, as had the foreman and his men were waiting to see what they could now do to be of assistance.

Wending his way through a few of them, Steve saw that Danny was laying prone on his stomach and unmoving. A shovel lay a few yards off to the right and the man Ponch had neatly incapacitated was screaming in pain.

"Get over here and cuff this lunatic." Ponch was seething angrily as he sat on the man's back with one hand firmly fisted in his hair and he was oddly oblivious to the man's cries. Most of his attention was specifically on Danny.

"He hurt his chest again .. badly. The ambulance is going to take time and they still won't be able to get down this street. How's Grace? Where are Ellen and Rebecca? Are they all safe?"

Steve looked around frantically for Grace and finally saw her in the doorway to his house and in Ellen's arms. Becca was hanging on to Ellen too with enormous eyes and a trembling chin. Both girls were crying and Grace was nearly distraught as Ellen kept her back from the chaotic fight.

"She seems okay. They're all okay, Ponch." They were breathless, covered in mud and soaked to the skin by the frightening event. Needing to relieve Ponch of his unusual chair, Steve grabbed the zip ties and heaved the man towards his truck. He winced as his left arm resented the movement and a few town workers came quickly over to help bring the man to where the other injured man now lay.

Freed to work, Ponch was on his knees in the mud and gently checking Danny for head and neck injuries. He was worried and overly focused as Steve sank down too. "How's Danny?"

Ponch glared at the two men who were now up against Steve's pickup truck. Actually, number two was half under the truck and on his side where Steve had tossed him. Blood and mud pooled from his face onto the concrete as he gurgled and choked up thick fluid. Even though he was in extreme pain, the one conscious man glared back arrogantly and with absolutely no remorse.

"What exactly is going on here?"

"We aren't entirely sure yet, Ponch. You can be damned certain of one thing - we're going to find out their relation to Frank Curtis and what the FBI has uncovered. It's obvious what they're looking for .. they thought Grace was Becca. They want those diamonds and they may think she still has the thumb drive."

Steve was as angry as the doctor, if not more so as he bent down over Danny. His breath was coming out as a pained wheeze and one hand was fisted in the mud.

The doctor was on his knees and leaning very close to Danny's face before making a decision. "Help me roll him over .. slowly ... and find me a blanket and get some towels. Get my medical bag."

Steve did as he was told, only stopping to give Grace a hug in an attempt to calm her. "Danno's going to be fine, Grace. Doctor Ramirez is with him. Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay?"

She was filthy and trembling from the shock of the unexpected attack. Grace sobbed and clung to him before insisting that she was okay and just terribly frightened. He looked at Ellen and put a kind hand on Becca's head because tears were running down her face too. "Get them cleaned up and dressed. We're all staying together to go to the hospital once the ambulance gets here."

"Let's go." Firmly, Ellen propelled the girl's into the house and to the bathroom. "We need to hurry." Ellen was kind but resolute as she enforced a few rules and got them moving. Grace was upset and completely resisted leaving where she could at least see her father. Steve grimaced in sympathy as her continued sobs reached his ears while he gathered spare blankets, towels and then Ponch's medical bag.

"So, how is he?" Steve repeated his question as they propped Danny's head up out of the mud and then covered his body with the blanket. He then used one of the towels to wipe the streaks of mud away from Danny's face and eyes.

"Doc? How bad is he hurt?"

"I don't like his respiration. He could have bruised his lung the first go round. It's why I asked about the EKG and he definitely needs another now. Plus an MRI." He bit the words out angrily as if this accident proved the value of the tests he already wanted to conduct. Ramirez glanced over to Steve finally and saw the blood through the mud and filth on his arms.

"You reopened your stitches too, I see."

"It doesn't matter." Steve was brushing it off as Ponch picked at the now ruined bandages. "Ponch, how long has he been unconscious?"

"Commander, I wish he was." Steve was taken aback by the snapped out comment and his head shot up at once. A worried anger had settled across the doctor's face and he shook his head to repeat himself.

"He's not. He's having trouble breathing and managing the level of pain. But he's most definitely with us."

Steve saw it then, the tightly gritted teeth behind drawn lips and the agonized, pinched expression. Under the caked mud, Danny was pale and muddy water was mixed with a cold sweat. He was conscious and barely coping with the blinding agony his body was experiencing. Danny was trembling as wave after wave of white hot pain settled in his chest and then moved persistently back towards his spine. It was a crippling pain and not even a gentle touch or a soothing word would have an effect.

All Danny could sense was that Ponch was there, as was Steve but he could barely hear them as the blood rushed through his ears and he struggled to take in each tiny inhale against the knife in his chest. His heart felt funny too .. an oddly out of cadence thud that echoed in his throat and temple to take his breath away.

But the worst part was that he couldn't ask about Grace. A particularly severe change in his heart rate had him gasping weakly and all he could manage was a weak moan as his fingers twitched idly in the mud. The pain close to his sternum was intense and he was becoming nauseous. The careful turn to his back had him light-headed and he couldn't shake the feeling.

"Doc?' He heard Steve's almost frightened voice through the haze and then felt his hand grasped but he couldn't find the energy to return what was meant to be a reassuring pressure. Almost in his ear, Steve was demanding that he try to stay calm as Ponch repositioned the blood pressure cuff and took more readings. "Danny, hold on. Help's coming - just take it easy. We're going to have to move you to reach the ambulance."

Then there were more voices thrumming and he felt himself gently moved and lifted which only worsened the vertigo to take his breath away. Someone was crying in the distance and he moaned worriedly as he recognized the young tone.

Grace. It was Grace and he couldn't get to her.

In his frustration, Danny moaned again and desperately tried to move his head or at least open his eyes. But Ponch was there and injecting one thing or another into his veins to bring up a much too low blood pressure, calm an erratic heartbeat and ease the sharpness in his chest.

"No. No. Stop." His barely audible pleas were seemingly ignored as the activity escalated and he heard but didn't understand frantically shouted orders. Floating in resentment, he hadn't realized that his hand was still caught up in an almost vice-like grip until he heard Steve yelling.

"Hey! Hold up!" He sounded angry and upset but no one seemed to be listening to him either. Danny felt the loss as the tactile touch on his fingers disappeared, and then Steve's voice faded from his side "Stop. Wait!"

Danny was moved and bumped as they tried to carefully rush him towards one of the waiting ambulance that had gotten as close as possible. Sirens were screaming now in the background and he vaguely heard Chin's startled voice and then Kono. Doors opened and slammed shut around him. It took a long time before he felt the warmth on his arm and he heard the words. Steve had to be right near his ear again because he caught each and every rushed syllable.

"Danno. Doc's going with you but I've got Grace, alright? We're all going together to meet you there."

There was a pause and Steve's voice held a distinct note of pride. "Your kid has one helluva round-house kick, Danno. Gracie broke the guy's nose. Smashed the crap out of him with one kick!"

Behind closed eyes, Danny tried to at least make a pleased sound to show that he heard his partner. Grace was fine and fought like a tiger. He would have grinned too if he had the energy, instead he listened as Steve's flurry of words continued. Danny heard the extreme worry for him, but also the near delight and admiration for his daughter.

"There's not a scratch on her, Danny. Promise. If I hadn't seen it myself; she's a great kid, Danno." There was a short chuckle before Steve finished his hasty ramble. He was being rushed even more now as Ponch made it clear they needed to leave and Steve's hand tightened reassuringly once again on his arm.

"Grace and Becca are fine. We'll meet you at the hospital. You're going to be okay."

Then Steve was gone as the steadying hand abruptly left him for a second time. But it had been more than enough and Danny let out with a strangled half-moan and half-sob of relief. Doors slammed again and the ambulance finally began to move.

Another strong hand found his shoulder as his shirt was removed and what he thought was a stethoscope was placed on his damaged chest.

"You're going to be fine, Detective. Just rest now .. what I gave you should help with the pain and make it easier to breathe." As Steve said, Ponch would be with him in the ambulance as they traveled to the hospital. His unresisting arm was studiously cleaned and he felt the tell-tale sign of an IV being placed near the crook of his elbow.

Danny knew that the doctor only called them by their titles when he was upset, angry or extremely worried. And truth be told, the habit was employed if something might be very challenging to his Hippocratic Oath or his patient's well-being. Doctor Ramirez most definitely did not like being pushed up against walls not of his own doing. Right now, the doctor could be any one of those things and for any number of equally good reasons. The man never lied and if Steve had Grace and Ponch said to rest, then Danny could do that since his back was covered and his family was indeed, safe.

A blanket was laid across his legs and halfway up his chest. Something else warm and soothing ebbed into his arm through the IV and it began to spread inch by inch towards the worst of the pain. He sensed Ponch shifting next to him as his large hand settled on his shoulder to offer support and strength.

The strong fingers may have held a slight tremble, but Danny heard the care as well as the remnants of anger in the big's man's voice.

"Breathe slowly, Danny. Try to relax and let us do the work. Everything's going to be fine." So he willingly let it all go when he felt the oxygen mask being draped over his face.

~ to be continued ~