Disclaimer: Ideas are fictional; not making any money on this. Hawaii 5-0 belongs to CBS. That's okay because none of this would work on TV.
After a breakfast of Froot Loops and toast, Steve went upstairs to get ready for work. Danny went in with Grace to help her with her hair. Steve was dressing when Danny walked in. "So, what happened with Grace?"
Steve shook his head. "Honestly Danny, if I had any idea that she would fall apart like that, I would have volunteered to take the airport run. I was just finishing up in the bathroom when I heard Grace crying. She was upset that everyone was gone. She misses Rachel and Stan, and now your parents are going home."
"What did you do?"
"I wasn't sure what to do. I hugged her and did my best to comfort her. I told her that we needed her help decorating the house and front yard. When she finally stopped crying for the second time, I told her to wash her face and brought her downstairs for some hot chocolate. That's about the time that you walked in. I've never seen her like that."
"Congratulations Dad. You've successfully made it through your first Grace crisis. She isn't like that often, but it's gut-wrenching. I caught the end of it. I think you have the technique down. First you comfort; then you distract."
"Thanks, Danno. That means a lot coming from you. How did it go at the airport?"
"We got there before the crowd, but it was tough saying goodbye. Babe, Mom and Dad had such a terrific time. They talked about you the entire trip to the airport. If I didn't love you so much, I would hate you for it. And what did you do to me last night? The part in the bedroom was amazing even for us. How did I get out of the tub?"
Steve shrugged at Danny's question. "I might have helped you out a little. You were pretty out of it by the time I finished rubbing your shoulders."
Danny pulled Steve in for a hug. "Thanks for taking care of me last night. And a special thanks for taking such great care of Grace this morning. I sincerely apologize for saying that you weren't good with children. And very special thanks for giving Mom and Dad a week they will never forget."
"You're quite welcome, and I accept your apology. The truth is that I wasn't good at all with children or even most people. Even Mary didn't want to be around me. I've changed, and you and Grace are the reason. Now, I need to get dressed. Why don't you check on Grace?" Steve waited until Danny left and hung his head. He had been so helpless this morning. He still wasn't sure that he had done the right thing. There wasn't even anyone Steve could punch. It's just so damn hard to love. People leave, and people cry, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Steve and Danny took Grace to school and stopped to talk to her teacher. They wanted to give her a heads-up that Grace might still be a little upset. "Thank you for telling me. A lot of the children have spent the holiday week with family and had to say goodbye. I find it helps to let the children talk about their week off. Does she have any pictures?"
Steve had printed several photos from their week. He had splurged on a nice photo-quality printer after spending a small fortune at Walgreens. "Yes, I made a small album for her to show the other kids that she does have grandparents."
The teacher nodded. "That's perfect. She can pass her pictures around. I understand that Mr. and Mrs. Edwards will be out of the country until after New Year's. I have your cell phone numbers, and I'll call if she has any more problems. Have a good day gentlemen."
Steve and Danny were a little less worried about Grace after speaking to her teacher. Danny dropped Steve back at the house to pick up his truck and then went on to HQ. Lori was in her office; Chin and Kono were getting coffee. He chatted with them about his time off; Chin was busy with wedding plans. Kono was able to surf most of her off days.
Danny stopped to check with Lori before he went to his own office. She had been bored the last couple of days. Thanksgiving dinner at the McGarrett-Williams home had been the high point of the week. Well, the lasagna dinner on Monday ran a close second. When she first came to 5-0, Lori was interested in Steve McGarrett. She thought they were kindred souls and that something might develop. He certainly was hot enough. Even Danny Williams would have been an interesting date.
Lori had been stunned the day that Steve announced that he and Danny were together. Okay, she had teased them about being married, but that was only because of the way that they bickered with each other. Lori decided that it wasn't such a bad deal to have Steve and Danny as friends. They obviously took loyalty to their friends very seriously.
Now if she could only decide how she felt about Max. He was such a nerd, but she found him fascinating. She knew that he had a little crush on her. He offered her a ride to Steve's house on Thursday. He was so proud of his new car.
"Hey Lori, how was your weekend?"
"Hi, Danny, it was okay. Well, it was a little boring compared to our quick visit to North Korea." Lori was a little embarrassed to admit it.
"You sound just like Steve, or at least like he was last year. He's mellowed out some in the last few months. Is there anything interesting in the HPD reports?" Danny could see that she was reviewing the daily summaries.
"No, it was a quiet weekend if you ignore the malls and the parade. Did your parents have a nice vacation? They're terrific by the way. Did you and Steve really fix that dinner on Thursday?" Lori still wasn't sure if Clara had been kidding about who did the cooking.
"Believe it or not, we did. I've always been handy in the kitchen; Mom wouldn't have it any other way. Steve does well with recipes; he's a science guy, and he knows how to follow a formula. Mom did a great job tutoring us through the prep work. We're doing a smaller version for Christmas with ham; it will be more pot luck but I think we're making bread and pies again. Keep it in mind when you're making your plans."
"Thanks, I will. If you are making that bread again, I'll be there for sure. What time will Steve be in?"
"He's at the medical center trying to get cleared for unrestricted duty. They'll put him through the wringer before they will clear him. In the old days, Steve would suck up the pain just to get back on the job. Now he's a little more reasonable. I expect he'll be here around noon. I'll talk to you later." Danny had enough socializing. He finally made it to his office and fired up his laptop.
It was a quiet morning. Steve came in a little after 11:30. He looked a little pissed off, and Danny debated if he should let him cool off or talk to him now. The decision was taken out of his hands; Steve came into his office and paced in front of his desk.
Danny leaned back in his chair and fired the opening shot. "How did it go at the doctors?"
Steve stopped pacing and gestured in a very Danny-like manner. "You wouldn't believe what they put me through. First, this vampire drew what seemed like 10 vials of blood. Then I went for an MRI for my shoulders. I got X-rays for my ribs. A physical therapist evaluated me, and I ran what felt like 20 miles on the treadmill. I have been so careful to let my ribs heal, and they wreck them for me."
Danny was out of his chair like a shot. "Are you okay babe? Should I take you home? Why didn't you tell them to stop?"
Steve shook his head. "Danny, you know what those people are like. They tell you, 'Just a little further Commander McGarrett'. Then I finally got to see the doctor for like two minutes. He gives me a list of exercises for my shoulders and warns me not to push it too hard on my ribs. I'm cleared but I should work up to running gradually. I'll start my morning routine tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll ease in to the running. I don't need to go home. I could use a couple of anti-inflammatories. Do you still have some in your desk?"
Danny pulled the bottle out of his desk drawer and handed it to Steve. "Here you go babe, but don't take them on an empty stomach. Let me order us something from the deli. I can get us some soup and salad. We've been eating a little crazy lately. I need to look buff when I hook up with my fiancé in a few weeks."
Steve took the bottle with a smile. "Thanks, that sounds perfect. I'll check with the others. I still owe them for my rescue. It's my treat." Steve checked with Chin, Kono, and Lori. There were more orders for soups and salads, except for Kono. She ordered a Reuben with everything on it.
"Hey, if the boss is paying, I'm eating real food." Kono was still young enough to get away with eating like that.
Steve gave the team a brief summary of the results of his morning ordeal. "I'm not assigned to desk duty, but it will be a week or two before I try to leap tall buildings in a single bound." That elicited a snort from Danny. "So when we go in the field, your assignments and pairings will reflect that. You have my assurance that I will not put any of you in jeopardy. "
Danny was gratified that Steve made full disclosure not only to him but to the team. Steve asked if everyone enjoyed their time off. By the time that the conversation wound down, lunch had arrived. Steve took his lunch to his office and turned on his laptop. Danny brought his lunch in along with water for both of them.
"Hey, you can take your pills with this. Before you ask, I haven't heard from the school. Grace must be doing okay. Kids usually bounce back pretty quickly. When she was a baby, she cried like her heart was breaking any time Rachel and I left her with a sitter so we could go out. The sitter told us that she quit crying the minute we walked out the door."
Steve shook his head. "I'm relieved that she's older. I don't think I could leave her like that. I guess I'm just a softie when it comes to Grace."
"Yeah, like that's a news flash. I knew that the minute I saw you playing Barbie with her. She knows it too. I'm the same way. We're lucky that she uses her power for good and not evil. How are you feeling, really? What did the doctor have to say?" Danny knew he was pushing his luck; Steve had been much more forthcoming than usual with his condition.
"My original lab results grew some nasty stuff in the lab. My prescription for antibiotics has been renewed for another ten days just to be safe. I need to stop at the pharmacy on the way home. The preliminary report on my MRI indicates that the small tears are healing. I'll start lifting some light weights tonight. My ribs are mostly healed and I can gradually add to my workout until I'm back to 100%. I'm feeling a lot better than I did when you found me. I'm sure you figured that out after last night."
Danny blushed when he remembered begging Steve for release. That led to memories of the Marquis. It occurred to him that he had more sex with Steve in the last six months than he had with Rachel the last three years of their marriage. "We have a pretty good life together, don't we?"
"I'd say we have an amazing life. It would be perfect if I didn't owe the governor a phone call. He told me to think about ways to improve 5-0. I'm not sure that I can think of anything. Do you have any ideas?" Steve saw the others were going back to their offices for lunch and asked them to join him. When everyone found a comfortable place to eat lunch, he repeated his question.
Danny gave the idea some consideration. "I think it would be helpful if we had more interaction with the other parts of HPD, including the detectives, SWAT, and the patrolmen. Even with Lori, sometimes we're stretched pretty thin. I'd like to do some joint training with SWAT. I think we all bring something special to the table. The people in the squad cars see a lot more than we can; we only get sense of what is going on by reading their dailies."
Chin agreed with Danny. "That's a good idea Danny. Occasionally I'll get a tip from one of the patrolmen, but I know that a lot of the guys see something that doesn't sit right. They don't get a lot of encouragement to speak up."
"Okay, that's helpful. Are there any other ideas?" Steve waited to see if Lori or Kono wanted to add anything. There were no more questions, so Steve moved on to the next item. "Danny and I enjoyed having everyone over for Thanksgiving. We're having Christmas dinner too, only ham instead of turkey. We'll provide the meat and desserts; if you'd like to come, let me know. We can coordinate side dishes. It's not a command performance, so don't feel like you have to show up. Don't feel like you're intruding either. We just don't want anyone to spend the day alone unless that's your preference. You can let us know when you figure out what your plans are."
The lunch meeting broke up shortly after that. Steve made an appointment with the governor for late in the afternoon. He reported mostly what he had told Danny earlier, and also brought up the input he had received from Danny and Chin. The governor agreed to bring the suggestions up at their next joint staff meeting. Danny had already left to pick up Grace from Emelina's when Steve got back to his office. It had been a quiet day, but he was only grateful that the team was mostly back up to full strength.
Steve remembered to pick up his medication on the way home. He was starting to feel his ordeal at the medical center in spite of the Aleve. His first thought was that another session in the tub might help, but he knew that ice might be better. Maybe he should try both. The front door flew open when he pulled in the driveway. Grace came flying out to meet him.
"Daddy, I'm so glad you're home. I really missed you today." Danno warned Grace that Daddy Steve might be a little sore from his doctor visit and to be careful with him tonight. Instead of leaping up to hug him, she put her arms up so that he could reach down to her. He chose to pick her up and hug her. When he walked into the house and saw the lit tree, his aches eased a little.
"Daddy, I'm sorry that I was such a big baby this morning. I didn't mean to cry." Grace had her head on Steve's shoulder and was patting his back.
Steve sat in the recliner and put his feet up. He just sat there, holding on to Grace. Finally, he told her, "Grace, you don't need to be sorry. I feel the same way sometimes. Don't ever feel like you can't tell me what you're feeling; you can cry on my shoulder any time. Did you have a good day?" Steve and Grace stayed like that until Danny called them in for supper.
Danny had re-heated the leftover Chinese food from last night. He had watched Steve walk in with Grace and sit with her. For the umpteenth time, Danny was grateful for the odd twist of fate the brought Steve McGarrett into their lives.
