Danny practically bounded up the steps to The Academy of the Sacred Hearts. The smile on his face was brighter than the Hawaiian sun, and he almost felt like singing. He laughed out loud at himself and then self consciously looked around to see if anyone had heard. He shook his head, singing out loud? Definitely too many Disney movies with Grace. Danny's smile got even wider. Grace! He had spoken to Governor Denning just half an hour ago and been assured that the abuse allegations, and investigation, had been closed, and he was once again able to have custody of his daughter. He'd barely heard the governor's sincere apologies over the incident; he was so anxious to see his daughter and set their world right again.
He slowed his pace as he entered the school and headed for the office, but he could do nothing about the smile on his face. He stopped at the front desk and tried to patiently wait for the attendance secretary, who smiled at him to acknowledge his presence, to get off the phone.
"Danny?" Luka peeked out of his office and waved him over. "C'mon in."
Danny followed Luka but couldn't sit, "Everything's been straightened out with the custody issue. I know there's only an hour left of school, but I couldn't wait to come pick up Grace."
Luka grinned, "Yes, Governor Denning called me a little while ago, and I suspected as much."
"The governor called you?" Danny hadn't asked for specifics when the governor called to tell him the good news, and he suspected Steve and Chin had left out some details of their meeting this morning in order not to upset him.
"Yes," Luka sat behind his desk and smiled when Danny finally took a seat as well. "He wanted to hear about the interview with Ms. Wentwood yesterday and whether or not any of the teachers ever had any concerns over your custody of Grace. None of the teachers did, of course, and I told him I was 100% sure you were not capable of harming your daughter."
"Thank you," Danny told him solemnly and huffed out a shaky breath. "I appreciate your support. This has been an absolute nightmare."
"I'm glad it all got straightened out quickly."
"Humph," was Danny's only response. He realized it had only been a little over 24 hours, but it felt like an eternity. He was so anxious to see his daughter, and now that he'd also been cleared in the shooting, he was more than ready to get his life back on track and back to normal.
"I'll call Grace down for you," Luka smiled.
"Don't tell her I'm here," Danny's eyes twinkled.
Ten minutes later, there was a knock at Luka's door. He smiled at Danny and went to open it.
"Mr. Hara?" Grace stood there uncertainly. "My teacher said to get all my stuff and come down here."
"Yes, Grace," Luka didn't move out of the doorway just yet. "I have a visitor here who wants to see you."
Grace gulped and nodded though no words would come out as tears formed in her eyes. The last time she'd been called to Mr. Hara's office, the horrid Ms. Wentwood had said mean things about her dad and said she couldn't see him any more.
"Go on in, Grace. I'll be right out here if you need me." Luka moved aside to allow her to enter and then gently closed the door behind her.
Grace stared at the floor as she maneuvered on her crutches and went into Mr. Hara's office. She flinched as the door closed , realizeing Mr. Hara hadn't come in with her.
"Monkey!"
Grace's head flew up at the sound of her dad's voice. She abandoned the crutches and her backpack and started to hop towards him, "Danno!"
"Oh, Monkey!" Danny quickly scooped her up into a huge hug, mindful of her injured knee, "I missed you, baby."
"I missed you, too, Daddy," she sniffled into his shoulder. "Does this mean I can come home with you?"
Danny nodded and carefully sat down, still holding onto his little girl, "Everything's okay, and we can go home. We don't have to worry about a thing."
"Uncle Steve and Uncle Chin made everything alright?" Grace wondered, remembering that Uncle Chin had said they had a plan last night.
Danny chuckled, eyes bright with unshed tears, "Yes, they had a little to do with it."
"I'm glad," Grace smiled. "I missed you. It was okay to stay with Auntie Kono but..."
"I know," Danny rubbed her back, "I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you come over some time when you want to and not because you have to."
Grace nodded, "But right now I just wanna go home."
"Me, too, monkey. Me, too."
Later that night, Danny watched Grace as she slept in her own bed. He smiled and couldn't help placing a gentle kiss on her head and whispered, "Love you, Gracie."
H
5
0
Friday afternoon Danny picked Grace up from school and still couldn't help but smile as he looked at her in the rear view mirror. The events following the shooting were starting to feel like the remnants of a bad dream as life returned to their regular routine. He had returned to work on Wednesday, and after the initial hugs and greetings upon his return to the office, life there had also returned to normal. To celebrate, Steve had invited them all to his place for a barbeque to enjoy the ohana being whole again.
"Gracie!" Kono greeted them as they pulled up at Steve's together. She watched the girl get out of the Camaro. "Where are your crutches?"
"I don't need them any more," Grace smiled, relieved to be rid of them for good.
"We got her doctor's appointment rescheduled for yesterday," Danny explained as they headed for the back of Steve's house, where they could already smell the grill and hear voices, "Doc gave her the all clear yesterday. She needs to take it easy for a couple more weeks, but she doesn't have to use the crutches."
"All right!" Kono high fived a grinning Grace. "You know, the water is very therapeutic, maybe we can go surfing..."
Danny interrupted, incredulous, "Did you not just hear what I said? She has to take it easy for a couple of weeks. That means no surfing!"
Kono laughed and winked at Grace, "Easy, brah. I meant when she was totally cleared by the doctor."
"Geez," Danny shook his head good naturedly and grumbled, "Leave her with you for a night and you're trying to turn her into a surf goddess like you."
Kono laughed again and stopped when Danny did, allowing Grace to go over to Steve and Chin talking at the grill.
"Umm... about the other night," Danny uncharacteristically looked at a loss for words momentarily, "Thank you for that... you know letting Grace stay with you at the last minute. I really appreciate it. It took a load off my mind."
"Any time, brah," Kono gave him a quick hug and then slowly started walking towards the others with her arm around his waist and his around hers. "It was my pleasure to do my part and take care of ohana."
Danny gave her a small squeeze and looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "Still not taking her surfing yet, Kalakaua."
The two shared a laugh together as they caught up with the rest of the group. Danny smiled at his friends and not for the first time, felt lucky to have become part of this ohana.