CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

Title: "Salvation: Forever and Always: Elusive Dreams – PART III"

Author: Michelle Heath

Rating: MA for adult situations and language

Summary: Story #9 in the Salvation series. The bonds of family bring the Five-0 ohana even closer.

Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!

Date Written: May 21, 2013

(Everyone watches as Sam and Grace climb into the plane, don their headsets, and Sam starts running the pre-flight while the rest of the family steps back inside the terminal. Steve directs them to an area where they can clearly see the plane as Sam taxies to the runway and then watch it take off. They can also hear Sam's communications with the tower on speakers Steve switches on. Once they've taken off and are no longer visible, Steve switchers to another channel so that they can hear the discussion in the plane. Sam patiently and thoroughly explains everything she does to Grace and answers all of her niece's questions. About fifteen minutes after they take off, those on the ground hear Sam say she is taking her hands off the yoke and turning control of the aircraft over to Grace. Several pairs of eyes immediately dart to Danny but, while listening intently, he appears to be very calm; much to the vast relief of everyone else. As they continue listening, Sam calmly gives Grace instructions and tells her what corrections to make and they make a couple of passes by the airport. Forty minutes later, Sam lands the plane and taxies back to the tarmac near the private planes terminal. Once she has secured the aircraft, she and Grace emerge and walk toward the group waiting for them on the tarmac. Grace Williams is beaming and, now that they are back on the ground, her excitement level is through the roof. She runs straight to her father and Danny kneels down to enfold his little girl in a big hug.)

"I flew, Danno!"

"I know you did, Monkey; I saw you!"

"Flying is so easy! I can't wait to do it again!"

"Hold up there, Nugget. Flying isn't quite as easy as you think."

"But I was really flying the plane, Aunt Sam!"

"You were. . . After I took off and before I landed, Gracie."

"And take offs and landings are hard, Sweetheart; especially landings."

"I know, Uncle Steve. Aunt Sam told me, but I did okay while we were in the air, didn't I?"

"You did an outstanding job, Grace. One of these days you'll be flying your grandmother and me all over the place."

"I'll fly you and Grandma anywhere you want to go, Grandpa!"

"Hey, when do the rest of us get to go up, Sam?"

"Right now."

(A quick discussion occurs where it is decided that Caroline, Danny, Libby, Mike, Lana, and Chin will make the next flight with Libby serving as the pilot and Lana occupying the co-pilots seat so she can also get an "up close and personal" idea of what all actual piloting involves. Tony then volunteers to take Kono and Eric up with Sam, Steve, and Emily accompanying them. By the time everyone has been up in the McGarrett's new plane Danny's attitude has done a 180 and he's firing some fairly intelligent questions at all the licensed pilots present. Finally, Mike, usually completely in control of himself at all times, can't take it anymore and starts laughing so hard he has tears in his eyes. Danny, well aware that he is the object of his father-in-law's amusement, sends a frown in Mike's direction.)

"What's so funny, Mike?"

"You are, Son! . . Don't get me wrong, Danny. . . I'm laughing with you; not at you!"

"Could've fooled me! Do I look like I'm laughing?"

"Danny, in the space of a couple of hours, you've gone from shaking with total terror at the thought that Grace was actually flying the plane to acting like a kid on Christmas morning. Admit it . . . You can't wait to get your private pilot's license."

"You're right; I can't. The sooner I get it, the more time I can spend with Grace. I want my dive card and rock climbing equipment, too, for the very same reason. I don't want to miss out on a single opportunity to spend time with my daughter."

"You're serious, aren't you, Romeo?"

"Yes, Caroline, I'm very serious. Libby, I promise you that I will take every, single thing you tell me about scuba diving seriously from now on. Steve, any time you're ready to explain the finer points of rock climbing to me I'm ready to listen. Sam, tell me what books I need for ground school and where to go to get them, and I'll have them tomorrow."

(And for just a moment, the entire group is utterly speechless because they all realize that Danny is completely sincere. Grace breaks the silence by hurrying over to her father, a sweet smile on her beautiful, little face and hugs him tightly.)

"You'd really do all of that just for me, Danno?"

"Of course, I would, Monkey. I will always do anything I possibly can to be able to spend time with you. I love you very much, Grace, and I always will."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

"Hey, Sam, did you guys get the optional water skids, too?"

"K, do you realize what a totally unnecessary question that was?"

"It's a fair question, Tony. I mean, yeah, Sam and Steve have the Pacific Ocean a few yards from their back door, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to keep their plane there."

"Why wouldn't they, Kono? Be really convenient."

"I can think of several reasons they wouldn't want to keep the plane at their house, Tony. Keeping it in one piece should a rough storm come up and having to worry about the Nugget being battered beyond repair for one."

"How often to we get storms bad enough to mess up a plane like the Nugget, K?"

"That's not the point, Tony. The point is that it could happen. Why should they keep the plane at the house and have to worry about it when there's a perfectly good airport close to home?"

"Kono, are you and Tony fighting over Aunt Sam's and Uncle Steve's plane?"

"No, Gracie, we aren't. We're have a . . Healthy debate."

"Sounds like you're fighting to me. Uncle Steve, what are 'water skids'?"

(And, having "hit the nail squarely on the head" in regard to Kono's and Tony's "healthy debate", much to the chagrin of the Montgomerys and the amusement of everyone else, Grace proceeds to "take control" once again.)

"Water skids are really big water skis, Gracie. You can replace the wheels of the plane with them and then you can take off and land on water."

"That is soooo cool! Did you get them, Aunt Sam? Did you get the water skids?"

"We sure did, Nugget. And to answer your question, Kono . . . We plan to keep the plane here at the airport part of the time and docked behind the house part of the time. We've already applied for all the necessary permits and we'll be good to go when we get them."

"When can I learn to take off and land on water, Aunt Sam?"

"After you learn how to do it, and do it well, on land, Nugget."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, Gracie; you'll learn to fly before Danno does."

"Hey!"

"What, Danny? I'm only stating fact. Gracie's way ahead of you on ground school."

"Like I can't catch up."

"Really, Danny? You're going to start this "one up on" crap with Gracie?"

"I'm not trying to "one up" my daughter, Pineapple Boy!"

"Really? 'Cause that's what it sounds like, Moron!"

(And Sam calmly takes Grace's hand in hers and starts explaining what they need to do to secure the plane as they walk back out to the tarmac and everyone else, amid various snickers and bursts of laughter, head outside leaving Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams arguing yet again. Things seem to be back to normal with the Five-O ohana.)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello, everyone. Again, I apologize for the very long period of time between posts. As some of you may remember, I have identical twin daughters, and the youngest had neurosurgery last December. We've just learned that her sister will require the exact same surgery and it's scheduled for the first part of July. Needless to say, I haven't exactly been in the right frame of mind to write anything worth reading. However, I have faith in God's mercy and healing grace, and I know that the best thing I can do right now is to maintain my normal routine as much as possible or go crazy with worry. BTW, our youngest has "bounced back" from the surgery remarkably well and was even able to play her last year of high school softball starting ten weeks after her surgery! God is truly merciful! Again, I apologize for the long "dry spell" between this, the last chapter of this installment in the "Salvation" series and the previous one. I hope to post the first chapter or two of a new story in the next few days. As always, I welcome your ideas and suggestions for storylines, and I truly appreciate your reviews. Thank you all so very much for reading and reviewing my work; your input means the world to me! Michelle