Note: lots of Grace in this chapter.

Chapter Seven

Grace walked down the hall to the headmistress's office. She had been called out of her English lesson, and she was racking her brains to think what she could have done to get into trouble. She certainly hadn't punched anyone again. Her grades were good, so why did the headmistress want to see her. Arriving at the office, Mrs. Turk, the secretary looked up from the computer.

"Go straight in Grace." Grace saw the look of sympathy on her face and knew she was in big trouble.

Tapping on the door she turned the handle, stepped inside the room, and froze in the doorway when she saw her Uncle Steve. It wasn't the first time her uncle had collected her from school, in fact the whole team on occasion had collected her, usually when her Danno was caught up in a case, or stuck in court, but she had never been pulled out of a lesson before. Instantly she knew it wasn't good news.

"Uncle Steve, is Danno ok?"

"Hey, Gracie." Steve walked over and pulled her into a hug which only escalated her panic, and she pushed him away.

"No. No please don't say it. He's not dead."

"No Grace, God I'm sorry if I scared you." Steve quickly pulled her back into another hug. "Danny's ok. I mean, he's been hurt, but he's at the hospital and I came to take you to see him."

Grace pulled away again and looked her uncle in the eye. "What happened?"

Steve knew Danny was always honest with his daughter so he resolved himself to fill her in completely. "We went after the guys who had the guns that were used to hurt Pua Kia."

"He was shot?" Tears filled the eyes of the young girl on the verge of her teenage years.

"Kind of, the bullets hit your dad's vest. He's bruised, and has some broken ribs, so he's going to need to stay in hospital for a few days." Steve explained.

"He didn't need to stay in hospital the last time he broke his rib." Graces pointed out, she wasn't stupid. She knew Steve was holding back.

"The force of the bullets bruised your dad's lung and liver. The doctors need to watch him to make sure there isn't any further bleeding. Also, so they can keep on top of his pain as his injuries are really painful."

"Can I see him?" Grace was desperate to be reunited with her father.

"Of course, I said I was here to take you to him. They were just getting him settled so I ducked out to collect you. I know you will be the best medicine for him."

"Ok." Grace looked at her headmistress.

"Its fine Grace, you can go with Commander McGarrett. I'll let your teachers know what has happened. I hope your father recovers quickly."

Steve nodded his thanks. He'd already fully filled her in on the seriousness of Danny's condition, and assured her the team would take care of Grace in the absence of her mother.

Steve steered his niece out of the office to the car, reassuring her that her dad would be ok, and telling her that they would ring her mom together on the way back to the hospital.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

"Well I don't think we need to work too hard on this list." Chin exited his office after retrieving the list Halawa had sent over.

"Really? Is there a name on there that stands out?" Lou was intrigued.

"Just one, Eduardo Abello, scheduled for transfer in two weeks. How much are you betting our Carlos Abello is related?"

Kono brought up information on the smart screen about Eduardo Abello. "Says here he's the youngest of three brothers, Carlos is the middle brother the older brother is Roberto."

"So we could have another brother still out there." Lou sighed.

"Only one way to find out, let's go speak to our guests." Chin led the way as the three made plans to take a suspect each, and get the information they needed.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Steve and Grace entered the CCU and headed for the nurses station. A nursing assistant pointed them in the direction of Danny's room and told them he had been sleeping comfortably for the last half hour.

As they reached the door Steve saw Grace pause a little, "you ok Grace?"

Grace looked a little nervous then nodded and stepped into the room. Steve was relieved, for Graces sake and his own, that Danny didn't look too bad. Sleeping at a 45 degree angle, no doubt to help ease his breathing and the pressure on his ribs and sternum, Danny did indeed seem comfortable. A heart monitor and blood pressure cuff were in place. A bulky, grey clip sat on his left ring finger, constantly monitoring his oxygen levels, and a standard oxygen mask covered his face. The two IV's that Jonah had placed were still there, a bag of fluids running through one and the other was connected to a patient controlled analgesia pump.

Steve was also grateful that Danny was wearing a hospital gown. The flimsy white material with blue diamonds was hiding the intense bruising on his friend's chest. No way would Danny want Grace to see the damage done by the bullets.

Grace moved closer to her father and Steve could see her eyes roaming every inch of his body. Satisfied that her dad seemed to be ok she stepped up to the bed and gently took hold of his right hand. Danny seemed to instantly sense his daughter's presence and opened sleepy eyes. Grace's eyes lit up as a smile spread across her face. "Hey Danno."

"Hey monkey." Danny's voice sounded rough. Looking at Steve he nodded his thanks then seemed to realise where he was, and that Grace needed to be taken care of. Suddenly he attempted to sit up, pain flashing across his face as he did so. Steve jumped into action, forcing Danny's shoulders back down onto the mattress.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? Just take it easy, you need to rest."

"Can't, Rachel is off...the island. I have to go home...take care of Grace." Danny hadn't let go of his daughter's hand.

"Relax ok. We're gonna take care of her. Kono is going to stay at your house tonight and look after Grace. Rachel is trying to sort a flight back to the island. You are going no where, now stop worrying your daughter will you."

Danny visibly deflated so Steve let go of his shoulders and made sure the oxygen mask was in the right place. Danny's eyes were glassy from the pain relief.

"It's ok, Danno. Auntie Kono and I will have fun. We can watch a girly film and eat ice cream. I just want you to rest and get better."

Danny gave his daughter a lopsided grin. "I'm sorry I scared you baby. Sorry I got hurt. I know we talked about this last night."

"It's ok Danno. Uncle Steve told me what happened on the way over. I'm glad you saved Auntie Kono, but I'm really glad you were clever enough to put on another vest."

"Me, too baby." Danny grimaced as a cough jarred his chest and left him feeling breathless. Steve, seeing how much pain his friend was in, pressing the pain pump he knew Danny was avoiding using in Grace's presence.

"That stuff makes me loopy." Danny complained.

"I'll take loopy Danny, over in pain Danny, anytime bud."

"Remember you said that if I start singing Bonjovi?" There was no danger of that though as his eyes grew heavy and his breathing started to ease.

"Get some rest, Danny. Grace and I will hang out here until Kono comes to collect her." Steve ordered as he watched his friend battle to keep his eyes open.

"Mmmm..." Danny agreed, finally closing his eyes. Steve could see that Danny's breathing was still laboured, the numbers on the monitors showed that his blood pressure was still on the low side, and his heart rate elevated. Dr. Pearce's words echoed in his ears, the warning that the contusions could worsen over time. As much as he knew father and daughter needed to see each other, he hoped Danny remained stable throughout Grace's visit.

TBC