Disclaimer : I do not own Hawaii Five-0 in any way shape or form. No money is made from this. It is purely Fanfictional fun.
. . . . .
When Danny heard that his baby girl was in the hospital, he thought his world ended. Literally, his legs gave out and if it wasn't for his brother, Matt, he would have hit the floor! As it were, his ears are ringing with statics. Matt were panicking and was frantically calling out to Danny. But his voice sounded like he was underwater, all muted and so far away.
He was afraid of this. Danny always has the fear that something might happen to his little Monkey. His Gracie was still so small. Only four years old. She was too young to handle a bond separation. He had nightmares that it could kill his daughter.
And now he's fear was realised.
And Danny knew why too.
It all started with his now ex-wife, Rachel. Their relationship had permanently deteriorated. They haven't been happy with their marriage for a long time. And that led to a nasty divorce.
Rachel hasn't been happy around the time Grace was born. She had been discontent that led to bitterness in a few short years. Once the honeymoon phase is over and reality set in, there is a part of her that desired more. Wanted more. Longing for the luxurious life that she had always dream about. A luxury that Danny couldn't give her.
It wasn't until Grace's third birthday that their marriage was seriously having problems. Being a Guide, he knew when Rachel started having dalliance. Rachel's hormones and emotions were all over the place. Her guilt at the beginning was a dead giveaway. He might not be a Sentinel with their extraordinary senses, but he knew – he intuited – when the deed was done. It was all over Rachel's aura! The presence, the feel, of another man clung to her. It was potent, like wearing a strong perfume, that it was unbearable for Danny to be beside her.
And it was frequent once it started.
It got so bad, that they had slept separately.
The fighting started in earnest when he had never failed to know that all times Rachel came home late, she was with another man. Sometimes it was the same man. Other times it was different men. Rachel accused him of spying on her. Danny doesn't have the heart to tell her he didn't need too.
Rachel doesn't know he's an active Guide.
Oh, she knew his family have the bloodline. Can't hide that when they wanted to get married. Rachel didn't know the full extent of his gift, only that she was aware that he was latent.
He wasn't latent at all. And to be fair, he didn't being obvious about it either. Neither his parents nor his siblings are online. All of them are latent. His mother have enough blood in her to be dormant, but his siblings have potentials to be active.
He had come online when he was younger and was nearly cripple because of a traumatising event. He had woke up at the Sentinels and Guides Centre, simply known as SGC; and had the required training, but because he was traumatised, he had the tendency to suppress his abilities. It wasn't until Grace was born that he was wide open once again.
It was thanks to his Guide intuition that Rachel doesn't get to clean him out in the divorce. Getting proof of her infidelity was easy. Since he knew when she cheated, he had acquired an SGC's approved Private Investigator to tailed Rachel. Since her excuses was all 'Overtime Work', and she was at a different hotels on those times, well… the rest was history.
In hindsight, he should have seen Rachel will not let it go and retaliated. And she retaliated with vindictive vengeance.
While their marital possessions were split accordingly, Grace's custody were supposed to be shared. If not shared, by default, it should be with Danny, as a Guide.
What Rachel did was getting herself a different lawyer and that lawyer slapped him with a Sole Custody and on top of that, managed to acquire a restraining order against him! Effectively preventing him from seeing his Gracie! He was not allowed to see Grace under any circumstances! That opened a lot of ugly can of worms!
Danny won't have it, of course. To prevent him to Grace have dire consequences. When Rachel blinded him with a sole custody instead of a Shared Custody, it sent a giant red flag all around. And it has a huge impact on Grace!
The SGC has their own attorneys to handle various legal matters, and a representative was required to oversee his divorce proceeding with a mundane. But despite their break-up, Rachel was still Grace's mother. So he did not acquire The SGC's full legal service. Had he done so, Rachel will get nothing from their marriage as the law between a Sentinel or Guide union with a mundane heavily favoured the Sentinel or Guide individual. This law exists for a reason!
The fact that Rachel had actively wrestled Grace away from him put the SGC up in arms. As it were, Danny were left without a choice but to employed the SGC's full services in countering Rachel's heavy handed and ruthless method. They had a small window to counter and the SGC's legal is going through his divorce proceedings with a fine-tooth comb. Danny can only hope the ruling can be reverse in time or they aren't too late.
The law heavily favoured the Sentinels and Guides because of their bond. The bond wasn't a metaphor or simply a phrase. It has a legitimate impact on their lives. It was deeply intertwined to their psyche!
As Grace was a Guide's child, she has a deeper connection to Danny. That bond is vital to her wellbeing. Without her bond or connection, especially for a child and without training; much less knowing how, it can be fatal. That's why, a bond interference case are judge harshly. Involve a child and there will be no mercy.
That's what happened to Grace. Danny had been trying repeatedly to be allowed to see Grace. He had beg, cajoled, even willing to give up all their marital possessions if that is what it takes. He was desperate. He can feel his connection with Gracie, straining. He was very close to commit a crime and kidnap Grace to seek sanctuary with the SGC!
And then the call came. And the floor crumbled from underneath him.
So now Grace was in the regional's SGC's Medical centre, and it's all because Rachel was being a vindictive, petty and selfish bitch!
. . . . . .
Danny couldn't stop the tears from flowing as he watched his baby. Grace looked so small in the hospital bed. She was lying there listlessly and the oxygen mask obstruct her face. She's very pale that even the hospital gown doesn't do her justice.
Danny sat beside his Monkey, gripping her hand as she slept. He doesn't have any energy to be anywhere besides his baby girl. Not since the Paediatrician told him the horrible news.
The doctor who treated Grace said Grace suffered an extreme high fever. She was brought in after a good Samaritan, a Sentinel-Guide pair, reported Grace's conditioned to the SGC.
If Danny wasn't so distraught, he would have found it hilarious. He has been working tirelessly to overturn the custody agreement and has been submitting numerous appeal for a visitation, but somehow the paperwork keeps delaying! As it were, the SGC is obtaining an Emergency Court Order for him with an Injunction on Rachel. As the Court Orders came through, that's when he got the call from the hospital.
And all it takes was a Sentinel and Guide bonded pair to detect Grace's lack of well-being – and not a moment too soon! According to the doctor, if Grace was brought in any later, his baby would have slip away!
The horror Danny had felt was indescribable.
As luck would have it, the Sentinel Guide pair in question was having a business meeting at the Edwards' residence. Stan – Rachel's new husband – would have the business dinner at some fancy restaurant, but with Grace having a fever and they can't get an Au Pair, as well as can't postpone the meeting last minute; it was Rachel that suggested the meeting be held at their townhouse. Barely ten minutes, and even the bonded pair picked up that there is a sickness and distress in the house. When Rachel told them that Grace had a fever, the pair wasted no time and put feelers out. The Guide sensed there was more to Gracie's poor health and thus was covertly asking numerous questions, while the Guide's Sentinel proceed with the business talk, all the while the Sentinel's senses heightened towards the distress child's rapidly deteriorating condition. It was all done under the guise of getting acquainted with their hosts. When Rachel had unwittingly let it slip that Grace was a product from her previous marriage and that she had sole custody, it had alarmed the bonded pair, for more than one reason. It didn't take them rocket science to know why the child was in Bond-Distress.
The falsity and vindictive glee was pouring out of Rachel was so strong that the Sentinel and Guide pair had nearly gag. She had no remorse in what she had done, only felt satisfaction in one-upping her ex-husband. The fact that the same ex-husband could be a latent bloodline, doesn't even matter. She'd won and she knew it.
The bonded pair couldn't get out of the house fast enough. They were barely out the door and into their car before they had the SGC on the phone and call it in, frantically.
Danny was forever grateful towards that Sentinel and Guide. His baby was still alive because of them.
But now, the doctor just told him his baby girl is in a coma. Her fever spiked and her status had worsened. "Mister Williams, there is no easy way to tell you. Given her age and the severity of the Bond-Distress, if her condition did not lessen soon, there is a possibility that your daughter will never wake up. I'm sorry."
Danny did not hear what the doctor said fully. He could barely registered his surroundings. All that he can understand, all that he could comprehended – is that Grace might never wake up. His baby might never wake up!
With high-pitched ringing on his ears, laboured breaths and clouded vision, Danny screamed!
. . . . . .
The next time Danny woke up, he groaned; long and loud. His body hurts and protesting something fierce. He got one hell of a headache and it was thumping like crazy!
A chuckle besides him told him he has a visitor.
A peek at the person, annoyed that whoever they are found amusement in his suffering, before he blinked. He blinked and blinked again before his brain caught up to him.
His unexpected visitor, turned out to be one of the highest ranking Alpha-Guide of the East-Coast.
Conrad Sinclair is the Alpha-Guide based in New York. He's the director of New York's branch of SGC and ran numerous shelters and charitable causes on the side. He's one of the respected Alpha Guide there is!
Holy shit! He needed a drink, badly. Danny was not ashamed to admit he had stared, dumbfounded at being in the presence of such a Guide. What could possible brought the Alpha-Guide of the East-Coast down to New Jersey?
Conrad Sinclair grinned at him. "Good Afternoon, Mister Williams," The Alpha Guide greeted him, cheerfully. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"
Danny spluttered. It seemed the Alpha-Guide have a sense of humour. "What? Who? What?"
It took a while for Danny to calm down. He was confused, to say the least. Once the pleasantries and necessities are out of the way, the Alpha-Guide told him why he was there. Apparently, his empathy went nuts; blasting and blazing and lashing out his anguish, devastation and distress. It was so great that those near his vicinity – the sentinels went feral and guides dropped over the emotional onslaught. To top it all, his despair resonated all over the spirit plain and both Jim and Blair had felt his suffering all the way to the West-Coast.
James Ellison and Blair Sandburg, the Primes Sentinel and Guide of the United States, and the Heads of SGC, felt him all the way to Cascade?!
If Danny can die of mortification, he would have. To know that they sense him from the west-coast strong enough that they send the Alphas of New York down to see the disturbance on the Primes' behalf? That was just plain embarrassing!
"So now, here I am. My Sentinel will be handling your case and oversee the whole thing. I hope you don't mind. One can't say 'no' to the Primes, especially if it's involves children. They want answers! And quite frankly, so do I," Conrad explained, casually. There was no mistaking the steel in that casual tone or the hard glint that was briefly seen in the Alpha-Guide's eyes.
Danny stared, gobsmacked. Really, what else can he do? It's not every day you were told that you've basically caught the Primes' interest with your meltdown.
And the Alphas willingly look into his and Rachel's custody's dispute?
That was bizarre in on itself.
Conrad Sinclair's Sentinel, Alex Kincaid, was not just any sentinel. While he does involved with SGC's matters – the Alpha-Sentinel is predominantly, a lawyer! A district attorney to be exact. Before that, he was working at one of the largest law firms in the state. He's famous amongst the Legal Community. Between the two of them, the New York Alphas are quite formidable.
Maybe that's why The Primes sent them.
And to be fair, he doesn't have any grounds to deny the New York alphas – much less The Primes – on handling his situation.
He would have felt intimidated by the highest ranking Alphas investigating his case. But as the Alphas, particularly as The Primes of the United States, it was under their purview to oversee all matters pertaining to Sentinels and Guides. Cases involves children will receive Jim Ellison's personal attention and involvement. His instinct as the ultimate protector won't allow anything less. And if he can't oversee it in person, then he'll ensure the regional's Alphas – who answered to the Primes – take the lead.
It was daunting!
Of course, it was around that time, when his head clears a bit, did Danny wondered why he was on a hospital bed to begin with and why Gracie was not in the room with him. "Wait… Gracie? Where's Grace?! Where's my baby?!" Danny looked around in panic.
"Woah, woah. Settle down!" The Alpha-Guide chastised as Danny tries to get out of the bed. "You are in a specialised-proofed room for Guides that needs solitude and healing. We had to seclude you because your distress is beginning to cause problems. It's protocol in order for you to calm down and start healing yourself and not affect the masses so much!"
"Yes, but where's Grace?" Danny insisted.
The Alpha-Guide sighed, feeling slightly exasperated. "She's safe at the Paediatric wing. Your spirit companion is watching over her," The Alpha-Guide said pointedly. "Quite the protective mother-hen, your coyote. It was guarding your daughter's room well like a guard dog. Literally, it was blocking the doorway, the nurse is going to be miff with you about that. Now, are you going to settle down so I can tell you what happened and why you're in here?"
Left with no alternatives, Danny settled down very, very reluctantly.
So, the Alpha-Guide explained that seeing Grace caused a reaction. On top of broadcasting his despair, Danny had instinctively tried to heal Grace through their bond. What Danny had done is practically threw everything he had at his bond with his daughter, hoping for a miracle, desperately wishing for Grace to live. His effort did succeed somewhat. But by pushing his powers in one-go, caused Danny himself to shut down and lapsed into a minor coma.
The good thing is his Monkey is no longer at death doors. She had awaken briefly before going into healing sleep, Danny was told. The bad thing is, while she was no longer in coma, thanks to the action of her mother, Grace's link was fractured. During the force separation, Grace had sought his connection. His presence. When she can't find him, much less see him, she had search for him through their shared connection. When she still can't detect him, she had tried harder. The continuous attempt at their bond had strained her insignificantly. And when she was unable to feel him, she shut down.
The result of that caused her health to deteriorate. Physically, little Gracie is in good health. It was psychologically that was the problem. To put it plainly, Grace was psychologically temporary mute.
Words cannot describe how Danny felt then. But the Alpha-Guide had taken hold of his hand and held on, wordlessly trying to console him. It was a small solace that Grace can speak again. Based on doctor's observation and reports, as well as numeral tests done, Grace's healing process are progressing. She just going to take time.
. . . . . .
The fallout was massive!
The media had a field day. It was an exposé! Money changing hands. Greed. Selfishness. Corruption at its finest!
Turned out, the lawyer Rachel had hired have quite the reputation, a very nasty reputation. A disgraceful and dishonourable one at that! How Rachel could employ that asshole, Danny will never understand her.
The lawyer are willing to do literally anything to win his cases. Really, anything. The guy used underhanded tactic to win. A review on all his cases saw a pattern of him pressurising numerous people.
How did the previous custody battle got passed swiftly?
Turns out a judge was coerced. A bribe and a blackmail was also involved, but mainly, he was bought – to put it delicately.
That damn lawyer knew a lot of people and make it his habit to know their dirty laundry. So it was easy for him to make sure his cases were all successful.
And that is what Rachel was counting on. Method doesn't matter. So long as she got what she wanted in the end, which was sole custody.
The SGC went to war and showed no mercy.
Sentinel Kincaid was furious. He nearly had an aneurysm. He practically shredded the Sole Custody Agreement document to pieces. It was unethically and he make it very verbally known.
A new Custody Agreement was drawn up. He brought in third party and independent contractor to look over and oversee the Custody Dispute. A different judge will decide the outcome. Sentinel Kincaid himself will represent Danny.
Danny doesn't care about the fates of both the lawyer and the previous judge. Last he heard, there's to be a tribunal of some kind. Their standing with the Legal community was tarnished and at the very least, loose their careers completely. That corrupted lawyer was in prison.
In the meantime, Sentinel Kincaid also brought Rachel up with criminal charges. Separating an active Guide and his daughter that resulted in fatal Bond-Distress was no small crime. That was ignoring the fact that no Sentinel or Guide should lose custody of their child to begin with.
Rachel tried to argue that she doesn't know Danny was active as her defence. But it was a weak argument and the jury practically shredded it to pieces. Even latent, trying to go against the law that protect and safeguard Sentinels and Guides, especially parent-child bond; there are lasting consequences for all involved. For Danny and for Grace. She knew this yet she still tried just to get back at her ex-husband.
Psychological assessment was conducted to determine how much of a threat Rachel was to Danny's tribe and pride. And the result was anything but good. While not a sociopath per se, Rachel was self-centred, callous and a spiteful person. Albeit in a low-key manner. Granted, there is no doubt Rachel loved her daughter, but her desire for a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle and personal image meant more to her. Someway along the line after Grace was born, she turned bitter. And when Danny kept guessing correctly of all her dalliances, that bitterness turned into hate.
And the assessment didn't stop there.
It was also revealed that she has a slight prejudice on Sentinels and Guides. To be straight about it, she thought Sentinels and Guides are uncivilised, savage and peculiar. They were uncultured in her opinion. And the fact that the laws protected them – instead of persecuted them – fed her resentment.
That sealed her fate.
For her crimes; Rachel lost her parental rights permanently for reckless endangerment of Grace. Her visa and permanent residency were revoked and she was deported back to England, never allowed to set foot back in US soil unless she was granted permission by the SGC. The SGC wanted to give her a much harsher punishment – a prison sentence at some secure facility, but Danny asked for clemency. Having lost Grace is punishment enough. With being deported and not allowing back to America and was being denied ever seeing Grace again. In all honesty, Danny doesn't care what fate befall Rachel – Prison sentence or not. Danny just want Rachel to be very far away from them. Far away from him and Gracie. And if it got her out of the country quicker the better. That's the only reason he asked for clemency in the first place.
As it were, this doesn't mean Rachel got away scott free. The British equivalent of Sentinel-Guide council will be monitoring her heavily. Rachel will have to go through mandatory counselling and rehabilitation at the British SGC's discretion. She might not be in prison, but she'll be under surveillance for the rest of her life and will not hold any rights to her future children – in this sense, they're going to make sure that sole custody will go to the spouse. Rachel has proven to be detrimental to a child, so they're going to make sure she can't do the same with any of her future children. As it is, they – the British SGC – might still imprisoned Rachel if she proves to be dangerous. One toe out of line and she'll be lock-up.
Danny's mercy may have narrowly avoided her a jail time, but that doesn't mean the whole Sentinel and Guide community were happy with the light sentence, as they see it. They wanted her to be confined and throw away the key!
Rachel did the unthinkable. An example needed to be made and to ensure this whole situation never happen again. It will serve as a reminder to all just why a Bond-Interference wasn't to be mess with.
In the midst of this hot mess; Stan was the innocent party in all this. He adored his wife. And it was with his money Rachel can afford to pay all those high-price lawyers. He doesn't know that Danny was a Guide. It was something Rachel kept from him. In fact, most of what he knew about Danny he took from Rachel at face value. The bad shits she told Stan was unbelievable!
After all the fiasco that Rachel caused, Stan found that he can't stay married to Rachel. Despite how much he loved her, as the custody battle and criminal charges progressed, Stan grew uncomfortable with his wife's selfish and opinionated ways. On top of that, Stan does have the bloodline somewhere in his ancestry. While he himself is unlikely to be active, in some small way, Stan does gets affected by Rachel's conceited behaviour. There is also the fact that with Rachel being deported and ineligible to be re-issued, Stan was unwilling to move across the pond.
At the end of it all, with Rachel officially charged and sentenced, Stan annulled their marriage.
. . . . . .
It has been a rough few months.
With the legal battles and Grace's at the hospital, Danny has never been more thankful for his family. Particularly his mom and his siblings. Matt, in particular, has been keeping Grace company every chance he got. His brother was practically working from home and on the days that Danny are swamp with either work or with his legal battles, Matt would take Grace to her therapy.
But Grace is not getting any better. Mostly, she was fine. It was mentally that was the problem.
Grace's problem was psychology. She became very clingy. She refused to be parted from him, always held on to him, unless they were at home or at his parent's house. His mother or Matt looked after her while he's out working, but she does have episodes. On such days, she can be so upset that neither his parents nor siblings can calm her down. Only the presence of his own spirit animal will soothe her some, but not for very long. It was only by being on the phone, hearing his voice; that prevented her from running out the door after him. One time, while he was having a day at court for a case, Grace ended up crying nonstop and was hyperventilating so bad that she puked. Matt had to take her to the courthouse and waited for him to finish, outside. She can't even be sent to day-care for this very reason. It was the SGC's psychiatrist that shed light to the cause.
It broke his heart that his baby saw this place a threat. His Monkey doesn't feel safe being in New Jersey anymore. Mostly, it's her fear of being taken away from him again. And that impedes on her getting better. She needed to soothe her spirit. To do that, it was better for her to have a change of scenery.
The SGC suggest taking Grace to a retreat to recuperate and rejuvenate. They have a private retreat around the world. In the US alone, they have no less than five retreat – one was a forested retreat, two was seaside and the other two was its own private island. The one that was ideal for Grace would be the seaside retreat on the opposite coast.
Right now, Grace needed to feel safe and secured. And the SGC hinted that it would be best if she was near the water, especially the sea.
And if Danny was honest with himself, with the divorce and Rachel's stunt, maybe a time away from New Jersey will do them both good.