Wānana Pū – Recollect
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.
A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being the beta reader. Your corrections and suggestions are amazing! You really worked your magic with this chapter! I'm really grateful for your help! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.
Thanks to everyone who has faved, followed or left a review this far. Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you for your kind words!
Chapter Fourteen
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MONDAY – 04:22 PM – INSIDE THE CAMARO – MOANA HONOLULU.
Danny had rushed to Grace's school and for what? They had spent less than ten minutes inside, before the teacher apologized and ended the conversation. At least the teacher was very pleased about Grace's behavior and grades. Danny was a bit surprised by it all, considering she acted different at home. And as Danny already predicted Grace didn't say a single word to him as they walked back to the car. For once he wasn't in the mood to talk. He had taken one aspirin before he went in, but the relief didn't last long. His head was already throbbing again. He had to drive, so he popped another before he got in the car. Grace got in as well and Danny drove away.
After five minutes he went crazy over the clicks as Grace was typing wildly on her cell phone. Danny decided to speak up with the hope she would put her phone away.
"You're not gonna say anything to me?" Danny glanced at Grace sitting on the passenger's side. Nothing but silence filled the air.
"All right, could you at least enlighten me to tell me how long you're going to ignore me?" Danny persisted while he suddenly turned right to take a short cut. He just as well could've driven straight ahead, but he was almost certain they avoid at least some traffic lights this way.
Grace jerked her head up at the sudden turn. It was not the normal route they took home, so she was a bit caught off guard by it. "You were late." Grace exclaimed angrily.
"I know that and I apologized for it. You also did hear what your teacher said about that, right?" Danny inquired to see if Grace had even been listening to him.
"Yes." Grace sighed and rolled her eyes before she stared back at her phone.
"Right, then you know he said that he totally understood the circumstances and that he was pleased to see that I made time in my busy schedule. You've got to give the man some credit after he said all those nice things about your behavior at school." Danny continued as he shot another glance at Grace, but her face was glued to her phone. He may as well have been talking to himself. She was not paying any attention. Downhearted and annoyed he put his lower lip over his upper lip to avoid saying something he'd regret.
"Don't get me wrong, Grace, I'm proud you're getting good grades and all. At least something good came out of all those years of raising you, however, I am disappointed in the way you're acting right now."
Grace finally looked up from her phone and shot a hostile glance at her father. "Really? You're disappointed?"
"Yeah, I am. I know it's hard being a teenager, but let me tell you, raising one... that's even harder and I hope you'll get what I'm saying one day, I truly hope you do." Danny raised his voice; he tried not to yell because his head was pounding worse than before. The aspirins had clearly not kicked in yet.
"Danno!"
Danny started to lose his patience. "What? Why are you so upset with me? I don't understand it!" he barked.
"There is blood coming out of your ear." Grace stared with her big brown eyes at Danny. A thin line of blood was dripping from his right ear and began to drop onto the collar of his button up shirt.
Danny touched his ear immediately and looked at his hand. The tip of his index finger was covered with blood. "It's nothing, it's fine, Grace, really don't worry it's nothing." Danny stammered as he swept the blood away. He tried to stay calm, but his heart was pounding in his chest. How was this possible?
"You sure?" Grace asked concerned, she could see the panic in Danny's eyes. "Watch out!" Grace screamed as two bright headlights came speeding towards the driver's side. Danny barely had time to notice the truck, let alone to dodge the high speeding vehicle before they got T-boned. The truck drove right into Danny's side of the Camaro with an ear-shattering crash.
Danny slammed onto the steering wheel before the air bags knocked both he and Grace back and sideways. Danny jerked against the restraints of his seat belt. The driver's side crumpled, the windows imploded causing shattered glass to fly around as the Camaro tumbled over and over onto the rooftop, the metal bashed over the concrete and slid against a hillock on the roadside before coming to an absolute stop.
The car had flipped so many times that Grace had become disoriented. She blinked rapidly to regain her focus. It took a moment for Grace to realize she was still alive. She was upside-down, pinned to her seat. The smell of smoke and groaning metal jogged her memory. She coughed as she pushed the airbags away. Suddenly thinking about her father, she turned her head. Her head ached and her left arm hurt, but right then she wasn't worried about herself.
Danny wasn't hanging upside down like her; he had slid with his back onto the rooftop. His seatbelt had not restrained him from being pinned to his seat. He had scrapes on his head, which were bleeding and his eyes were closed. Complete panic enveloped her. "DAD!" Grace cried out as she started to pull on Danny's right arm, trying to get a reaction. But there was none.
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MONDAY – 04:27 PM – FIVE-0 HEADQUARTERS - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.
"Uncle Steve." Grace uttered. Icy paralysis gripped Steve as he heard Grace's frightened and weak voice.
"Gracie, where are you?" Steve quaked as his heart began to pound in his chest.
"We've been in an accident." Grace sounded petrified to Steve.
"What do you mean an accident? You okay?" Steve tensed and his stomach flipped.
"I'm okay I think, we're stuck. We need help, Uncle Steve." Grace sniffled. Steve's heart skipped a beat. He could hear the fear in her voice; it sent a shiver down Steve's spine.
"You stuck? You're still in the car?" Steve ran out of his office. Chin and Lou were still standing around the smart table. "Chin! Trace this call! Now!" Steve barked as he continued to hold his phone up to his ear. He focused on the call again. "Grace, stay on the phone, okay? I'm coming." Steve reassured. Chin and Lou got alarmed immediately hearing the girl's name and seeing the concerned look on Steve's face.
"Hurry, Danno's hurt." Grace exclaimed in pure panic.
"Can you tell how bad?" Steve asked as calmly as he could, even thought his eyes were wide with concern and fear was creeping into his voice. The thought of Danny being hurt again was like a physical blow, like he'd been punched in the stomach. "Lou! Keys!" He couldn't take his own truck, since Steve had picked up Danny that morning. Lou reacted quickly by throwing his car keys towards Steve.
"He's stuck and he's bleeding."
"Send EMT and the rescue department to the location!" Steve shouted at Chin and Lou as he left HQ. Chin immediately did as Steve requested. Without knowing the details, both he and Lou knew that something was terribly wrong. Chin also knew, that Steve would want them to continue to work on the case.
Steve rushed downstairs and sprinted towards Lou's truck. He quickly got in and put his cell phone on speaker. Chin had sent the location to Steve's cell phone. He knew where it was, but it didn't make any sense. Why Danny would take that road? Steve started the engine, went in reverse, turned on the sirens and tore off.
"Grace talk to me?" Steve asked worried as he could hear her move around in the car.
"I think I can get out." Grace slammed her shoulder against the door, trying to open it.
"No! No, Gracie you need to stay still. There's adrenaline rushing through your body; you might not notice that you're injured." Steve warned. He didn't know if she was okay or not. Grace might be calling him, but that didn't make him any less worried.
"No I'm good. I cut my arm, but that's it." Grace hissed as she touched the cut on her left forearm. Her head ached as well, but other than that she felt fine.
Veering onto the opposite lane, Steve floored the gas pedal and passed the car in front of him while he ignored the speed limit. He let out a relieved sigh, as Grace seemed to be all right. He still didn't want her to move, just in case. He wasn't sure about Danny though; he hadn't heard him in the background or anything. "Sweetheart, can you put your father on the phone?"
"He's not awake, but he has a strong pulse, I checked." Grace told him as she placed her fingers once more in the crook of his neck to check for a pulse.
Steve swallowed the big lump in his throat as he tried to suppress the thoughts of Danny being in trouble again. "That-That's great, good work, kiddo! Don't worry okay? Help will be there soon." Steve tried to comfort Grace and his own mind. His heart was pounding in his chest, but he couldn't let the fear take over. He focused on the road, his grip on the wheel white knuckled. With lights flashing, the car in front of him changed lanes, finally allowing him to pass. Steve roared past it.
"Okay… I'm so-so sorry to bother you with all this, Uncle Steve." Grace sobbed, the emotions became too much. Her father was hurt and unconscious and she was stuck and all alone.
"What? You crazy? You're not bothering me, never, you hear me!" Steve soothed her. His heart broke. She was hurt and in trouble and still she apologized to him. He would do anything for the little girl, especially in a situation like this. He would even trade places with her in a second.
"Uhu." Grace mumbled. She tried to open her door again and again. "I need to get out!" She shouted. Her frustration turned into panic and more tears started streaming down her face. She just needed to get out, to help her father. Grace slammed once more against her door. Finally the door burst open and Grace tumbled out of the car as she had all her weight against the door.
"Gracie? What happened?" Steve yelled into his phone.
"I'm out! I have to try to get Danno's door open." She exclaimed, relief in her voice. Steve heard metal shrieking and glass shattering when all of a sudden the call got cut off and he was left behind listening to a dial tone.
"Grace! Grace?" Steve shouted, but there was no connection anymore. He tried to call her back without any success. The pit in his stomach became a wide and bottomless chasm. He pressed his foot down on the accelerator and blew past all the other cars.
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Arriving first on scene, Steve quickly pulled the car to the side of the road. It was complete chaos. The Camaro was upside down with the hood crammed into the roadside hill. Tire tracks were burned onto the road. The truck that had slammed into the Camaro was still upright. Smoke was coming out of the crumpled hood. Within all this horror was Grace, hanging onto the driver's side of the Camaro, pulling with all her weight on the door, trying to open it. The door was completely caved in; her efforts futile. Grace fell to the ground, upset and discouraged she glanced inside the car.
"Gracie!" Steve shouted as he ran towards the demolished Camaro.
"Uncle Steve!" Grace jumped up from the ground. "I can't get it open!" She pointed towards the driver's side door.
Steve examined Grace quickly. Grace had some scrapes and scratches on her face, probably from the shattered glass. Little pieces of glass were stuck in her French braids. She was still wearing her school uniform, which consisted of a garnet red polo and a beige pleated skirt. There were crimson stains across her skirt and her bare knees were covered with small chunks of glass and scrapes from the concrete. There was a deep cut on her left forearm and blood dripped down along her hand. It was still bleeding and continued to stain her clothes as she rested her arm on her lap.
"Keep your arm up, it will slow the bleed." Steve raised Grace's left hand and placed her right hand underneath her left elbow for support. He kicked some glass aside before he knelt down at the driver's side of the Camaro. He glanced through the smashed side window. What he saw made his stomach turn and he had to swallow hard to push down the need to throw up. Danny lay inside the car, face cut and bruised, his right arm under his body and the worst part, unconscious. Steve reached in carefully avoiding the broken glass of the window, and checked for Danny's pulse. Grace said it was strong, but looking at Danny's condition, he seemed anything but strong. Fear grabbed his heart as he placed his fingers on Danny's neck. Steve sighed in relief when he indeed felt a strong heartbeat.
The worst cut on Danny's cheek probably need some stitches. Other than that he seemed relatively okay. However, Steve prepared himself for the worst, knowing how the last time turned out. If Danny had hit his head during the accident then he could be in serious trouble.
Steve needed to start working on getting his friend out of the car. Screeching sirens of help arriving were closing in, but Steve started to pull on the door anyway. He placed his left foot against the car to have more leverage and counterbalance to pull it open. It helped; there was some slight movement and the door popped open. Steve pushed it open as far as it would go.
"Steve?"
"Danny!" Steve got down immediately as he heard a familiar voice say his name. Steve sighed as he stared right into his friend's baby blue eyes. "Hey buddy, hang in there, help is almost here."
"Grace?" Danny asked weakly, worry in his voice. He winced in pain as he coughed a few times.
"I'm okay, Dad. You hurt?" Grace knelt beside Steve on the hard ground as she heard her father ask for her.
"No, monkey, I'm fine, just a little stuck." Danny grunted as he shifted.
The HFD rescue squad arrived on scene, followed by an ambulance and some HPD patrol cars. Three firefighters and one medic came jogging towards Steve and Grace. Steve directed them to Danny. Sure he stayed close, but there wasn't anything he could do at the moment other than getting in their way. He and Grace stayed off to the side, letting the firefighters do their work. Grace watched with wide-eyed and anxious.
"Let's get that arm looked at, huh." Steve grabbed Grace by her shoulders, turned her around and directed her to the ambulance. She didn't need to see all of that. It had already been traumatic enough. Grace didn't say anything; she walked next to Steve in a daze.
Grace sat down on the step on the back of the ambulance. "Is he going to be okay?" Her voice quivered.
"He has to be." Steve grabbed a blanket from the inside of the ambulance and wrapped it around her. He shot a glance towards the Camaro. The medics had shoved a backboard into the car and had pulled Danny out on his back. They had put a C-collar around his neck. They placed the backboard onto the stretcher and rushed back to the ambulance. Steve moved Grace away, so they could load in the stretcher. Within a minute they had Danny in the back of the ambulance. One medic started working on him, putting an air mask on his mouth and inserting an IV-line. The other medic finished taking care of Grace's arm. She cleaned it and wrapped a bandage around it. They were about to take off, as Grace held tightly onto her father's hand, but looked fearfully at Steve.
"He'll be okay, Gracie." Steve reassured her. He hated leaving her to ride in the ambulance with her injured father alone, but the medics thought it would be best that Grace be transported via the ambulance to get thoroughly checked out at the hospital.
"I'm right behind you guys, okay?" Steve reassured her again, closing the doors of the ambulance and sprinted back to Lou's truck to follow.
tbc..
-H50-
A/N: Happy Five-0 Friday! Excited to see how the boys will handle the missing uranium.
Thank you for reading! Next chapter will be up in a few days.
Mahalo for your support.