Here we come
Walkin' down the street
We get the funniest looks from
Every one we meet

I stop my briefing mid-sentence, suck in a breath that I feel in my ribs that still ache sometimes.

"Steve?" I think Jake's trying to get my attention, but all I hear is that song. That damn song. I'm imagining it right?

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees
And people say we monkey around
But we're too busy singing
To put anybody down

I look down at the table where the vibration of my phone is making it dance on the shiny surface as it lights up, trying to get my attention. I was sure I put it on silent and only two numbers have over-ride on the DND setting. But it can't be, right?

I pick up the phone.

"Grace?"

"Uncle Steve! I'm sorry, I know I'm not supposed to call." I move away from the table so quickly, I almost knock down my chair and a moment later I'm out in the hall, ignoring whatever my Team is saying to me as I leave.

"Gracie, it's okay kiddo. It's gonna be okay. What's wrong?" I haven't seen her or spoken to her since that too-short morning visit almost ten months ago, but I recognize the fear in her voice.

"Danno." She sniffs and I'm already moving through the halls to find Hankinson's office. "Danno hasn't called me in three days, Steve. Mom says he's busy with work but..."

But it doesn't matter how busy Danny is with work, he'd never go three days without speaking to his monkey. I'm pretty sure the last year and a half haven't changed that. And I'm not about to lie to Grace like her mother is.

"Hey Gracie," but she's still crying and I don't think she's listening. I try again, more forceful, but sure to not sound angry. "Grace! Listen to me, okay?" Her sobs quiet down and she responds with a broken little grunt. "I'll be there as soon as I can. You just hang tight. Your mom's just trying to help, okay. You gotta remember that she's scared, too. It's gonna be okay, kiddo. All right?"

"Yeah."

I look up and see that I'm already at his office. I just hope he's in. I don't have time to wait. This is not fucking happening.

"Okay listen, Grace. I have to go, okay? Be good for your mom and just remember," I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment and swallow hard. It's my nightmare coming true. "Danno loves you."

"Thanks, Uncle Steve."

"Anytime, Gracie."

It's one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I hang up on her and open the door. His secretary is there, a pretty Petty Officer whose name I usually know but right now my head's too full to think of.

"Is Commander Hankinson available, please?" I ask her before I've even crossed half the room.

"He's just about to go into a meeting, Sir."

"It's very important. An emergency's come up." I struggle to find the charming smile that I know gets me anything I want. It must work, because now she's on the phone for a moment before waving me towards his office.

"He says he can spare you two minutes."

I nod my thanks and enter the office. It's not until I'm standing at attention, almost shaking with tension, in front of Hankinson's desk that I realize my leg is killing me. Rushing around the building probably wasn't the best idea.

"McGarrett, I thought you were in a briefing?" I notice he hasn't allowed me to stand at ease.

"Yessir, but I just got a call from Hawaii and a family emergency has come up. If possible, I need to take a few days to go home and deal with it. Even if it's just the weekend."

He narrows his eyes at me. "I was under the impression you didn't have any family."

I take a deep breath, clench my jaw. I really don't have time for this shit right now. Either grant me time off, or dismiss me. I've got places to be. "I do have family in Hawaii. Sir."

"Well," he begins, and folds his hands on the desk in front of him. I know what that means. "I'm sorry to hear that there is some trouble back home, McGarrett, but our exercise starts on Monday. The SAS and JTF2 aren't going to just wait around because one of our SEALs needs to go play nurse maid to his girlfriend or mother or whatever your problem is."

Yeah, that's about what I expected.

"Sir, Lieutenant Costas is more than capable of handling mission prep in my absence and I will be back and ready to report to duty first thing Monday morning. I have not taken any leave since returning to active duty almost a year and a half ago. In fact, I've also worked every major holiday to allow others to go home to their families."

"Then yours can't possibly need you that bad, if you haven't even bothered to go see them, can they?" Maybe most of them don't need me. But Grace does. And they are my family, even if I'm on the run. Besides, Danny showed up in Germany for me less than three weeks ago. I owe him.

"Sir, the doctors in Rammstein—"

He stands. Very slowly. "Lieutenant Commander McGarrett. Are you seriously arguing with me right now?"

I take another deep breath. "No, Sir."

"The doctors here at Coronado cleared you for full duty, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Then there's no reason to extend a medical leave that has already ended. No leaves are approved until this training exercise is over." A week and a half from now. Danny could be dead by then, if he isn't already. "If things are quiet after that, I'll consider your request."

I open my mouth to say something and he just raises a barely there eyebrow and dismisses me. I salute, spin on my heel and leave the office, only allowing myself a limp after I close the door behind me. I make it to an uncomfortable plastic chair and drop into it, massaging my thigh for a minute as I work out the kinks from my little speed walk followed by standing in the office.

When the pain subsides to a dull ache and I'm about to stand up and head back to the briefing room, Costas comes into the room. He sees me and comes over and discreetly helps me stand.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Hey, what's going on, man? Everything okay with your partner's daughter?" I look over at Petty Officer... Clarkson. That was it. She's smiling at us. I smile back and turn Costas toward the door.

"Let's go outside." I manage to hide the limp, but we walk slow down the hall until we make it back to the briefing room, now empty.

"I, uh, handled the rest of the briefing for you."

"Thanks," I say again, sitting in a chair. The injury's easy enough to ignore if I spend enough time sitting down. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, no problem. What's going on?"

"Danny... D-Danny's missing. I've gotta go home for a few days." I don't miss the twitch of his mouth when I call Hawaii home.

"Hey, you do what you gotta do. Be with your family. I'll hold down the fort. It's just a training exercise. We can handle it."

"I know you can. Thanks, man." I don't tell him that my leave wasn't approved. I don't want him thinking he needs to try and help me when Hankinson realizes I'm gone. I can't have him lying for me. "Alright, I gotta go. Thanks again."

505050

I used a non-Naval alias to book the earliest, fastest flight home I could find but I was still surprised that I wasn't met by MPs at the gate. Wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, though.

While waiting in airports and on flights that felt longer than any other I've been on - and I've been on some long fucking flights - I logged into the Five-0 servers, and used all the Naval resources I was able to on the laptop I borrowed from my office to figure out what the fuck was going on. By the time I landed I had a plan of attack, one that I was certain would work.

I'm pretty sure this is fall-out from a case gone bad a few months ago. Payback. And the perps were always a step ahead of Five-0 as they tried to locate Danny because they either had a leak or they were being surveiled. Or both. Good thing I'm not Five-0. They won't be expecting me. Assuming, of course, that the Team didn't notice 'Danny' hack into their system and discuss it in detail all over the offices and their phones. Guy really needs to switch up his password system.

But I've got one stop to make first so, less than twelve hours after Grace called me, I'm pulling up to the Edward's residence in a rental. I get out and press the buzzer at the gate. A familiar English accent answers.

"Rachel? It's Steve McGarrett."

"Commander!" And the gate's opening almost before she even finishes the word. I don't bother getting back the car, just head to the front door as quick as my leg will let me. As I get to the top step of the porch, my arms are full of a teary-eyed Grace.

"Uncle Steve! You came." I smooth down her hair, kiss the top of her head.

"Of course I did, kiddo. Came as soon as I could. I can't stay here long, though. I gotta go get Danno. I just wanted to see you and let you know I'm gonna get him back for you, okay?" I feel her nod against my chest and I look up and mouth a 'thank you' to Rachel, standing in the doorway, for allowing me to see her.

I step back, crouch down to meet her eyes. "I gotta go, okay? Remember what I told you this morning?"

She nods. "Danno loves me."

"That's right, Grace. And I love you, too. I'll get him home before you know it, all right?" I give her another tight squeeze and a kiss and head back to the car.