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

Notes: Wow everyone - thank you for the encouragement! I hope this lives up to expectations since it sort of got "regurgitated" for no apparent reason. ;-) I guess the story was meant to happen. But still, I hope it's good and you enjoy it. There is no set posting schedule this time; we're just going with the flow!

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Chapter 2

It took Grace a few very long minutes to screw her courage together to crawl to the extension for the house telephone which was on the credenza in the hallway and dial 911 for help. Noises that she never heard before in the big house had her on edge and jumpy as tears slid down her cheeks. She simply couldn't make herself move or go any faster for what seemed like an eternity as she pounded in the three digits.

"911. What is your emergency?"

"Um." Grace coughed as her mind went blank because so much had happened and her throat tightened. She panicked when she forgot words and stumbled over the images in her mind that refused to come out of her mouth. "Um ... there were men with guns .. they were here ... and they took Danno. They took Becca, too but they shot Uncle Mike!"

"Okay, calm down, sweetie. What is your address and we'll get the police to you? Can you tell me if the men are still there? Are you in a safe place?" Listening to the kind voice, Grace choked in fear because she knew some answers, but she didn't know the address to the Ramirez's house.

"The men …they took Danno .. and they're gone. But .. but I don't know the address." Stammering badly, Grace burst into a new spate of inconsolable tears as she dropped the phone from her stunned fingers. She forgot what she was doing as she berated herself for not knowing the answer to the most critical question. "I don't know it!" She wailed to herself as she left the telephone where it fell on the floor, the line open, and the 911 operator frantically calling for her to come back.

Staying low, Grace kept crawling on her hands and knees until as she worked her way into the kitchen where she had left her backpack. Fumbling for her cell phone, she yanked it from the middle pocket, found Steve's saved number and hit speed dial. Rubbing tears from her eyes, she sobbed uncontrollably as she waited for him to pick up. When he finaly did, she barely heard the wind and surf in the background as she bawled unintelligibly over his happy welcome.

"Hiya Gracie! How's the project ..?" It was as far as he got when he heard the choked terrified sobs. "Grace?"

"Uncle Steve .. help! Please ... help." His attitude changed instantly as he slammed the phone hard to his ear and began jogging back to this house from the shore line.

"Are you at Uncle Ponch's house?" What happened, Grace. What's wrong? Where's Danno?" Her garbled yes had him moving, but her next words rocked him cold as an iron-sized fist settled in the pit of his stomach.

"He's gone. They shot Uncle Mike ... and I think he's dead. They took Danno and Becca .. they hurt them ... and then they took them!"

Grace scarily became quiet when she thought she heard a door slam outside the house. Steve heard the startled gasp and cringed when she didn't answer him right away. In fear that over took her common sense, nasal sobs waffled through the line but she stopped speaking entirely.

"Grace? Grace .. what's wrong?" Steve was running flat out now through the lanai and directly into his house where he grabbed a shirt and the keys to his truck. Seconds later, with strobe lights and sirens on, he was practically yelling into the open line.

"Grace! Talk to me! Who's there .. who's with you?" He heard her crying softly and then shuffling sounds as she tucked herself into a tiny and dark place to hide. Steve heard the muffled, echoey change in pitch but couldn't get her to answer him as the line unexpectedly went dead.

"No, no! Damn it!" Eyes darting from road to cell phone, he autodialed Chin and Kono and demanded that they gear up and meet him at the Ramirez's house. By then, reports were coming through his own police radio about the 911 call that was already sending other units and an ambulance to the traced residential address.

The ambulance and two HPD cruisers easily beat Steve to the Ramirez's spacious ranch house. He ran to the yard and dropped to his knees by Mike Ramirez and the two paramedics that were attempting to staunch the flow of blood from the gunshot wound.

"Mike. How is he?" Steve gasped out in shock as helped lift the badly injured man to a gurney. "This is Doctor Ramirez's house. Mike is his brother."

"Wow, we didn't know." The paramedics were stunned at the news as they secured their patient to be moved. The expression on one paramedic showed his rising concern as they began to carefully leave the property.

"He's critical. Lost a lot of blood … and we're losing some of his vital signs. We have to move." They were efficiently packing up and leaving almost faster at that point. "We have to go. Now."

"Where is she?" Steve demanded of the nearby officers as he pushed away from the gurney only to spin in place. Running both his hands through his hair in a temper, he quickly searched the yard. His lips were set in a firm, angry line when he recognized Danny's wallet, the keys to the Camaro, and his cell phone lying thrown in the grass. The wallet was on-end and he could just see Grace's picture peeking out from the small plastic holder. He automatically reached down to pick it up and then stopped himself. The personal possessions needed to be collected, bagged and then analyzed before he could touch … and eventually return them to his partner. Other than Mike, two overturned glass beer bottles that emptied into a frothy mess into the lawn, and the new rabbit hutch ... there was nothing else and no one to see. But it was scarily enough.

"Where is she? Grace Williams ... where is she?" He was yelling now and going after the HPD officers who had evidently cleared the property and the house.

"There's no one else here, sir. Do you mean Detective William's little girl?" One tried to explain to Steve that the interior of the house was empty; except for the injured man found outside, no one was there. Looking to his partner for help, the HPD officer was clearly confused because they had checked the house from front to back.

"We got word of a child calling 911 and the telephone line was still open in the hallway. But there's no one here.'

"You're wrong. Get out of my way!" Steve nearly snarled at the officer as he entered the house and paused in the living room. The house was spotless and untouched but he saw the house phone were Grace had made the first frantic call.

"Grace! It's Uncle Steve .. where are you? You can come out now. It's safe." He literally ran from bedroom to bedroom and then checked the closets. Coming up empty, Steve was beside himself that someone had in fact, taken her too.

"Grace!" His last overly loud bellow was fraught with anger and fear as it demanded an answer. "Grace, answer me right now!"

Steve finally thought he heard the renewed sniffles from the large kitchen and a faint noise that possibly sounded like help or here. He saw her backpack then, and registered that it was open with its contents spilled messily on the floor.

"Quiet, quiet, quiet!" The noise he heard was too soft and he had to stop and listen hard with one hand up in the air to forestall the worried conversation from the HPD officers in his wake.

"Gracie." Steve dropped to his knees as he tried to aim his ear toward the sounds. He heard her then and slid over on his knees to the farthest small cabinet near the large double pantry doors.

Opening it carefully, Steve saw her messy hair first and then her tightly fisted hands which held a butter knife clenched in his direction. Her hands were shaking badly and her eyes were huge in her pale, sweaty face as she stared blankly at him. "I'm here, baby. Come to me, Grace. Come on."

She wavered at first, completely uncertain and too petrified to make a decision. "Let's go." Steve was sure that his smile was on the poor side, but it was the best he could do as he ignored the knife and held both hands out to beckon her. "Grace. It's okay."

With a bawled sob, she scooted towards him and flung her arms around his neck still clutching the silver butter knife. As he soothed her and got to his feet, the utensil clattered to the ground while he stalked past the HPD officer to the dining room table where he sat her on its edge. He never heard the stunned apologies from the two men who slowly trailed behind him.

"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you, Grace?" Desperate for learning more about the abductors, Steve was forced to wait while pushing her hair back from where it clung to her sweaty, blotchy face while heavy sobs shook her shoulders. A hand on his shoulder made him turn almost in annoyance, but one officer was merely handing him a wet, cool cloth.

Her head swung in a juddering no as she hiccupped and coughed around a fresh flood of tears. He easily knew that he wasn't going to get much from her but he tried as he wiped her face gently.

"How many?" More stern than usual, Steve got directly into Grace's face to make her look at him. He wiped her cheeks from tears and then cooled her neck as he coaxed her through a few questions. "How many men were there, Grace? Can you tell me?"

Her mouth moved soundlessly and then four fingers wavered in his face. Steve gently smiled as his hand enveloped her much too cold one. Remaining stern, he balanced his softness with a very quiet tone as he tried to get anything of value from her.

"Four. Good job. Did you see their faces or what were they wearing?"

"No. I didn't know the address." She moaned out a few words that at first didn't make sense to him. Then seemed to escalate because once his question sank in and being Danny's daughter, she knew precisely what he was getting at and she had seen precious little.

"We're here now." Gently prompting her, Steve repeated his questions softly. "We're here, and I just need to know if you managed to see these men at all."

"Black all black clothes with masks. Guns but I didn't hear anything. The guns didn't make loud noises even though they shot Uncle Mike."

He nodded in understanding since that meant the men used silencers on their weapons. "It's okay. That's perfect information." It indicated a covert, planned attack and that unto itself, was actually helpful if Danny was targeted. But the reason for taking Rebecca Ramirez was a total mystery.

"Did you hear them talk or see what kind of car they drove?" Her eyes welled with tears as she shook her head no once more. As soon as Becca screamed and Uncle Mike had been shot, Grace had dove for cover and tried to hide as far away as possible.

"I didn't see! Bathroom. I was in the house. I couldn't hear them .. but I don't think they talked. It was all too fast!" Her bubbled sobs caused him to sweep her off the table once more. She had done what she'd been taught and kept herself safe.

"I want Danno. Uncle Steve .. he's gone! They took Becca and shot Uncle Mike but I didn't see anything." He vainly tried to shush her as he held her against his chest. Chin and Kono had arrived and he looked over her head as they tried to understand what had happened and why. She was becoming near hysterical as she realized what she saw didn't help them at all.

"Chin, help them process the area as a crime scene. I want anything .. everything. Find me something; check with every neighbor if you have to." Upset and frightened, Grace was trembling badly as he strode past his team and signaled that Kono needed to drive them directly to the hospital. He followed her as she ran ahead to start the car. The entire time he whispered soothingly to Grace, he was also searching the driveway and streets for any additional clues. But other than the usual neighborhood gawkers, no one seemed suspicious.

"You're so brave, Grace. So very, very brave. You did all the right things and Danno would be so proud." Unable to help himself, Steve then said the worst thing possible. It earned him a seriously concerned look from Kono.

"We'll get him back .. I promise that we'll find him and we'll get him back." Steve warred with himself as Kono's non-verbal warning sank into his head. He knew better and had slipped at the worst possible time. With a judicious nod at acceptance of his error, Steve whispered some more orders to her.

"Kono, call Ponch right now. Let him know .. let him know what to expect." Steve's voice was already hoarse from stress as his mind raced through possible reasons behind the crazy scenario. Cradling Grace in his arms, he didn't know what was going to happen when the doctor saw his brother and then found out that his niece had also been abducted.

"After you do that, then get me Rachel .. track her down. She's state-side this week with Stan."

Without replying, Kono simply acted and made the call to Tripler first using Doctor Ramirez's personal line. Her words cut through pleasantries and put the man on high alert, but there was no way to relay the information nicely.

"The ambulance is on its way. I'm sure they are transmitting to the emergency room already so get down there, Doc. We're coming in too and will meet you there." Glancing to the passenger seat after ending the call, she didn't dare ask any questions as Steve continued to pacify Grace even though it seemed like a lost cause.

Grace was still whimpering and apologizing for not knowing the address to the Ramirez's house. Regardless of what Steve was saying, she continued to mumble and cry. Worriedly tapping the steering wheel, Kono focused on driving at that point because she didn't want to try and contact Rachel with the distraught child in the car.

When she caught Steve's eye, Kono mouthed "who" and "why" but he had no answers. None of them did. They had nothing and he could only hope that Chin and HPD turned up something in the next few minutes or even hours. Steve had full confidence that Chin would find the tiniest shred of something if it existed. In the meantime, they made their way to Tripler Army Medical Center a few miles behind the ambulance that was delivering Mike Ramirez to the trauma center.

~ to be continued ~