Prompt: Snowman (part 1)

Pairing: N/A / Fandom: Hawaii 5-O

It has been a while since Danny had been in New Jersey. It felt like every time he was back, it was for less than happy reasons, but this time was different. This time he had brought Grace with him to celebrate Christmas at the William's household. Everyone would be there: his parents; his sisters with their families; even his baby sister, Lisa, had come; plus, a special guest.

Seeing the snow outside the kitchen window brought back memories. Danny remembered the multiple times he had snowball fights with his siblings in the backyard, making snow angels (and getting yelled at because they would get soaked to the bones doing them) and building snowmen, one for the girls, one for the boys. Everything was a competition with them and it seemed that that competitive gene wasn't lost on their kids.

He could hear the yelling and laughter that came from the living room and his heart filled with joy knowing that one of those laughter's belonged to his daughter. It was a struggle convincing Rachel to allow Grace to come to Jersey with him for Christmas, and at some point, he even thought that she wouldn't be convinced, but after a conversation between her and his sister Lisa, somehow, Rachel said that he could bring her, as long as he brought her back before New Year's Eve. Danny didn't know what she had said to Rachel, but whatever it was, it worked and Danny was beyond grateful that it did.

Danny heard footsteps coming in the kitchen. Looking over, he saw the bright smile of his beautiful daughter Grace.

- "Everything okay, monkey?" – Danny asked and the little girl replied with a quick nod and a smile. Looking back at the window, he had an idea.

- "Hey, monkey, what do you say we sneak out and go make a snowman?"

Grace's face lit up, giving her father a megawatt smile and nodding as quickly as her little neck and head possible could.

- "Okay, then. Let's go."

Danny grabbed his daughter's hand and lead her to the back door. Grabbing two coats and two pairs of gloves from the coat hanger by the door, they put them on and traded the cozy kitchen for the cold of the night. Before closing the door, he flipped the switch that would light the backyard just enough for them to be able to see what they were doing. Danny then closed the door quietly and led Grace down the steps to the middle of the yard.

The snow was thick but manageable, perfect to make a snowman. They both knelt down and started gathering snow for the base of their snowman. Danny could see the smile on his daughter's face and the glimmer of excitement in her eyes. She was happy. That's all that Danny ever wanted for his daughter. She had already been through so much in her few years of being on this Earth, that he knew he would do whatever it took to see her happy, by all means necessary.

Once the base was at Grace's taste, they moved on to the second tier of her snowman. Pilling as much snow as they could on top of the first one, Grace would shape it while Danny would pile more and more snow onto it. His hands were getting cold but it was worth it. Every once in a while, he would throw a bit of snow at her, making her laugh and telling him to stop. She was determined to have the best and prettiest snowman ever. The way she would furrow her brows in concentration had to be the cutest thing he had ever seen.

Eventually, the second tier was done by Grace's standards. They began working on the head of the snowman and that's when he remembered they were gonna need something for the nose, eyes and mouth. Telling Grace he would be right back, Danny turned to go back inside and that's when he saw them. Lisa and Steve, by the window he had been previously on, looking at them with sweet smiles on their lips. By the door was a small box with a carrot, a hat and a lot of buttons of all sizes and shapes. They had put it there. He looked back at them and mouthed his thank you, then turned away, returning to his daughter's side.

By the time Danny got back to Grace's side, she had almost finished the head. He chuckled knowing the little girl had to had stretched herself to the fullest of her height in order to reach the top of the head. Grace took a step back, admiring their work and that's when Danny presented her the box. The first thing she took out was the hat. Giving it to Danny, he placed it on top of the snowman's head, slightly tilted. That made Grace chuckle. Next was the carrot. Picking her up, she stabbed it with the carrot to make sure it would stay in place. Taking the box in his other hand, Danny let her choose what buttons she wanted for the eyes and mouth. The ones that were left were used as jacket buttons on the body.

Once it was finish, Danny put her back down and they both took a step back admiring the now complete Mr. Sniffles. Grace told Danny that his name was due to the fact that he was made of snow and that the snow was cold, making her nose sniffle. He chuckled at the little girl's explanation for the name.

Making their way back into the house, both feeling accomplished, they quickly discarded the jackets and gloves and went for the hot chocolate that was still hot and waiting for them, to help them warm up. But neither were prepared for the surprises that the night would still bring them.

"Yep, this is gonna be a Christmas to remember.", Danny thought, a smile on his lips.