Everything hurt.
Pain was everything, hurt was everything, torture was everything.
Everything.
Couldn't think. Couldn't think. Had to think. Couldn't not think.
Shelburne. Shelburne. Who. Where. Couldn't think. Had to think.
Another punch to the gut. And another. And everything hurt.
Shelburne.
"Danno!"
"Hey, Monkey." Danny picked up Grace and swung her in a circle, smiling at her excited squeal. She was so much bigger than he remembered. How could a little girl grow so much in six months? "How's my favorite person on the planet?"
"Good! Mom told me to say hi, but their flight wasn't delayed like yours so they had to go." Grace stuck out her lip to pout, and he was briefly reminded of her namesake. Briefly.
"So, what, Mommy and Stan just left you here, all by yourself?" he groused.
"No one said she was all by herself, brah."
Danny blinked at the unexpected voice and looked up slowly, Grace still wrapped up in his arms. Kono stood next to the baggage carousel, her grin as bright as ever. To her left were Chin Ho and Malia, who had grabbed Danny's suitcase, and to her right stood Kamekona, still wearing his bright yellow shrimp shirt.
"Aloha, bruddah!" Kamekona stomped forward and wrapped his arms around Danny and Grace, ignoring the latter's gasp for air. "You really need to come back here more than once every two years."
"It's probably too busy back in Jersey, right Danny?" Chin's eyes widened at Danny's choked expression and he pulled gently on Kamekona's shoulder. "I don't think you're going to be able to welcome him back for much longer if you keep that up."
"Oh, sorry." Kamekona released the captive Williams, both of whom coughed on their intake of air. "I better get going and fire up the shrimp truck. Grace here told me you've really been missing it."
"She did, huh?" he sputtered, massaging his throat. Kamekona nodded and waved goodbye before stomping down the terminal. Kono replaced him, embracing Danny in a much gentler manner. "I don't understand what you're all doing here. Shouldn't you be working or surfing or something?"
"And miss the triumphant return of Danno? Hardly!" Kono squeezed him for a second before letting go and grinning again. "Kamekona's right, you know. It's been too long."
"Yeah, I guess it has," he said quietly. Her eyes filled with understanding, and she exchanged a look with Chin-Ho. Malia knew the expression, as she approached to give Danny a quick peck on the cheek before putting her arm around Grace's shoulders.
"Hey, would you mind finding a bathroom with me? I never like to go alone." Grace looked to Danny, as if asking permission. He sighed and nodded, and she and Malia took off.
"So, what, you guys gonna give me the third degree or something?"
"Not exactly." Chin Ho leaned closer to Danny and Kono, his expression grim. "We just don't want Grace to hear this."
"You know something about Steve, don't you?" he asked immediately. Chin and Kono exchanged another look. "I've been scouring the airwaves, the newspapers, everything I could possibly find to see if he's popped up, and I haven't found a thing. What do you guys know?"
"Word on the street has it that Wo Fat's coming back soon. Contacted an old friend a couple days ago, asked to have lunch with him." Kono tossed her hair nervously. "It's surprising that he'd be so bold, especially considering that the entire island knows his game by now."
"What did Joe have to say about it?" Danny responded. "He must have some chatter." Another look passed between the cousins, and he groaned. "Don't tell me he's gone off the grid, too."
"'fraid so, brah," said Chin. "We haven't heard a peep outta him for over a year now."
Danny wiped a hand over his face. "Well, that is…that's fantastic."
"Everyone who has the authority to be on alert for Wo Fat is, but unless he's lost his touch he'll get here regardless." Kono sighed and rolled her eyes at Chin. "I tried to take the next two weeks off to look for him, but the bossman said no way."
"I already told you, Wo Fat's probably got eyes on all of us. If we change our patterns at all, it'll get his suspicions up," Chin said flatly. "We'll both be looking, hell, the entire HPD will be looking, but you're not getting time off for it."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a second. You're Kono's boss now?"
Chin shrugged and smiled. "What can I say? Working Five-0 gave me some cred in the department."
"Yeah, but it didn't give me nearly enough of it." Kono complained, but she had a grin plastered on her face. "I still gotta take orders from this brah."
"Okay, well, congratulations," Danny said. "I'm really happy for you and everything, but this Wo Fat thing has got me worried. Grace's day camp lasts through Wednesday, something which I really need to complain to Rachel about, but this also means that I have three days to-"
"Not a good idea," Chin interrupted. Kono narrowed her eyes at him, but he ignored her glare. "Look, Danny, it's just like I told Kono: Wo Fat has a finger in everywhere. He's got eyes and ears all over this island, and there's no way we're going to be able to sneak around under the radar."
"I dunno. I figure, y'know, I just sniff around under the pretense of revisiting my old haunts, and maybe no one pays much attention. I'm just another haole, right?"
Kono started to reply, but Grace's sudden reappearance interrupted her. "We're back, Danno!" Her eyes sparkled as she grabbed Danny's hand, and he couldn't help but smile back. "Are you ready to go to Kamekano's?"
"Am I ready? I've been ready since I landed." He took his suitcase from Chin and let his daughter lead the group from the airport.
He was back.
A/N: Whoa! I was NOT expecting this kind of response, and so immediately! In honor of the number of alerts, faves, and reviews I received, I'm posting the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it just as much.
The main story takes place about two years and seven months after the events of Ki'ilua. It's mid-June of 2014, for those of you looking at your calendars. The snippets at the beginning of each chapter, however, are not necessarily concurrent with the rest of the chapter. Sometimes the snippets directly relate, sometimes they don't. It will probably be obvious which is the case with a given snippet.