When Kono and Chin arrived a little after two o'clock they found the men and sitting on the deck and Cindy was in the living room reading a book. Steve had been pretty quiet since waking up and Danny was hoping Kono and Chin could maybe turn his spirits while he was gone.

When he left, he stopped at his apartment first, dropping off all the weapons and grabbing a bag of clean clothes and his toiletries. When he was driving to Rachel's he dialed Joe.
"Hey Danny. How's our boy doing?"
"He's holding up. It's going to be a tough road Joe"
"Well, he's as tough as they come. He'll beat this thing Danny, but he'll need you"
"I'll be here. He's trying to get rid of me but he's going to find out that I can be more stubborn than he is"
"I think he already knows that son"
Danny chuckled, "Hey Joe, have you had any luck finding Doris?"
"No. Doris is good at hiding. If she doesn't want to be found, she won't be. Is Steve asking about her?"
"No, but I'm sure he's thinking about her"
"I'll let you know when I reach her. Do you want me to fly in to help out?"
"Not now….I think the less people around him the better. I'll let you know though"
Joe's voice shook slightly as he added, "Please tell him I love him and that I expect him to carry on"
Danny grinned, "I'll tell him Joe, bye now"

The Mother of Gracie's friend Lucy was due to drop her off at about three thirty and Danny arrived about half an hour early.
They sat on the couch chatting about Steve while playing with Charlie. The conversation turned serious when Rachel started questioning Danny about confronting Steve.
"Danny…"
"Rach, I can't do this anymore. I'm so angry with him honey. I know he has control issues and I can deal that, but when he goes off on his own like this…It tears me apart Rach. It tears US apart, we're supposed to be a team and when he does these things it's like he doesn't trust me…I can't do it….I love the guy, I really do….but I just can't see me staying with 5-0"

"You're certain about this Danny?"
"Yes. Once he's recovered and back to work….I'm out, and I want to leave Hawaii"
"Danny please, listen to me. Talk to him first, you promised me you would do that….you owe him that"
"Shit Rachel….I owe him so much"
"Then talk to him" She leaned over and kissed his lips gently.

They had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't heard Gracie enter the house. She stood, leaning against the wall. Mommy always told her she shouldn't listen in on other people's conversations and she hadn't meant to hear this. But she did hear it, every word of it. Danno was mad at Uncle Steve, so mad that he was going to leave 5-0? She wanted to ask Daddy what Uncle Steve did but then Mommy would know that she listened to them and she would get into trouble. Mommy did make him promise that he would talk to Uncle Steve, she heard that. Maybe she could talk to Uncle Steve? If he told Danno he was sorry then everything would be okay…right? Then maybe Daddy wouldn't be so mad. She decided she would call Uncle Steve later…..he would know what to do. SuperSEAL could fix anything!

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She dropped her backpack on the floor and called out, "Mommy…Danno!"
Danny stood calling out, "We're in here Monkey!"
She came around the corner and in moments she was in her daddy's arms. After exchanging kisses, Danny set her onto the couch with Rachel and Charlie. As the little girl kissed her baby brother Danny knelt in front of her.
"Did you have a good day sweetheart?"
"Yes Daddy. Is Uncle Steve feeling better?"
"He is…..he had a very good day"
"He sounded good when I talked to him. Can I see him now?"
Rachel jumped in, "Gracie, no. Daddy told you it would be a few days. Steve needs his rest"
Danny smiled, "You have to be patient Monkey. Remember you can call him anytime though"
"Anytime Danno?"
"Yes. I promise you, he'll answer your call anytime"

Rachel smiled at her daughter, "Gracie, I have something very important to talk to you about"
"What Mommy, is something wrong?"
"Gracie…Stan and I have decided to get a divorce"
She shook her head and said matter-of-factly, "Oh….is Danno moving back in with us?"
Danny smiled at the innocent question, "Your Mommy and I would like to start seeing each other again. Are you okay with that?"
The child was giddy with excitement as she smiled from ear to ear saying, "YES, YES, YES, YES!"
Danny looked at Rachel stating, "Honey, I think she's okay with this"
Rachel chuckled, "It sounds like it, doesn't it?"
"Are you going to get married again? Can I be in the wedding?"
Rachel looked at the man she loved and then back at the little girl who meant the world to both of them, "You need to slow down honey. Your Daddy and I are going to see other…"
Gracie interrupted her, "You mean like go on dates?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. I can promise you that you'll see a whole lot more of your Daddy"
"Every day?"
Rachel answered, "Well, a lot..."
Danny looked at his daughter and whispered, "EVERY day baby!"
Rachel smiled as Gracie clapped her hands in delight and threw her arms around his neck as Charlie squealed in delight on the couch.

Danny stayed and played with the kids outside while Rachel started dinner. They had to eat early because Gracie had an Aloha Girls meeting later that evening. They had been outside about half an hour when Danny noticed a change in Gracie's demeanor.
As Charlie played with a toy truck at his feet, Danny sat next to his daughter on the rim of the sandbox.
"Why are you so quiet Monkey? What are you thinking about?"
She couldn't hold back the tears, "Oh Danno please don't…."
He pulled her onto his lap, "Hey, settle down and talk to me. Don't what?"
"Don't leave Hawaii Danno. Please don't leave Uncle Steve"
He closed his eyes, "You heard me talking to Mommy?"
"Yes…..I didn't mean to listen, I promise"
"It's okay Monkey. I need you to listen to me now though. Uncle Steve is an amazing man, you know that right?"
"Uh….huh…"
"You're too young to understand baby, but sometimes adults get upset with each other"
"But Danno, you love him don't you?"
"Yes, yes I love him very much"
"If he says he's sorry, will everything be okay"
"It's not that simple sweetheart….I have to think about you and Charlie and Mommy"
"But I love Uncle Steve so much Daddy, and you said that we should tell the people we love how we feel about them every day"
Danny pulled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head, "I know you love him and I don't WANT to leave Monkey"
"Then don't Danno! PLEASE DON'T…"
"Baby, you need to trust me. I will do what I think is right for us, for our family"
"Danno, Uncle Steve IS our family"
He smiled as he thought, 'out of the mouths of babes', "You're right Gracie, he is family and I promise you that I'll talk to him"
"Okay Danno"

Charlie was crawling in the dirt pushing his truck, "vvvrroooommmm…vvvvrroooooooommm"
Gracie giggled, "Charlie, you're so silly"
Danny responded, "SILLY! Charlie….she's calling you silly?"
The tot ignored them, totally engrossed in his toy, "vvvrroommmmm"
Rachel called to them, "Dinner's ready!"
Danny kissed Gracie, "Are you okay kiddo?"
"Yeah"
"Good. Let's go have dinner" She jumped from his lap and Danny leaned down picking up Charlie. "You got so dirty little man"

50505050505050505050505050

As they entered the house Rachel sent Gracie to the bathroom to wash up and moved to take Charlie.
Danny grinned, "I've got him honey" He then took Charlie upstairs to change him and clean him up. Rachel watched as Danny walked up the stairs talking to the chattering toddler the whole way. He was back in her life and she couldn't be happier about it. She hoped that he could resolve his issues with Steve though. She knew how much Danny loved that man. And Gracie...she would be devastated without her SuperSEAL. Unfortunately, they had witnessed just how devastated they all would be if Steve were to be taken from their lives. She prayed that Danny would not make a decision that he would live to regret.

Moments later Gracie was at the table eating spaghetti and chatting with her Mother about her day in school.
Several minutes later Danny's cell phone, which was on the counter rang. Seeing it was Kono calling, Rachel answered it.
"Hello Kono. Is everything okay?"
"Uh….no. Is Danny there?"
"He's upstairs with Charlie, hang on" She looked at Gracie, "You keep eating sweetie. I'll be right back"

She raced up the stairs and found Danny pulling the now clean little boy from the bathtub.
"He's ready to eat spaghetti now….then he'll need another bath!"
She held up the phone, "It's Kono"
Taking the baby from his arms, she handed him the phone "Kono, is he alright?"
"No. Danny, he's angry…and in a lot of pain. He shoved Chin into the cabinet in the living room"
"Is Chin hurt?"
"He's got a bump on his head but he'll be okay. He too weak to control him Danny"
"I'm on my way Kono"
As he hung up the phone Rachel said, "Go to him"
He moved to her and after kissing Charlie he kissed her lips tenderly, "I'll tell Gracie you'll be right down"
"Call me later"
"I will…..bye" He kissed her again and then hurried downstairs.

"Daddy, what's wrong?"
He moved to her side and knelt down, "Gracie, everything is going to be okay but Steve isn't feeling real well right now so I have to leave"
"Will you tell him that I love him?"
"Of course I will. I'll call you in the morning. You have fun tonight okay?"
"I love you Danno"
"I love you too Monkey. Mommy and Charlie will be right down" He kissed her and then left the house, racing towards the McGarrett home.

******** THANKS FOR READING, MUCH MORE TO FOLLOW ! *********