Work Text:
Title from the song Misunderstanding, by Genesis
Just a dumb thing that popped into my mind this weekend
Danny helped Grace lie down on the couch then dug around in the bottom drawer of his file cabinet to find the blanket he kept there. Working with Five-0 meant unfortunately spending too much time catching catnaps on his office couch when they were working a case instead of going home to his brand new comfy bed
.
He spread the blanket over the child who’d curled herself into a miserable ball. Danny knelt down beside his daughter and pushed the hair off her forehead with one hand.
“Still feeling sick, sweetie?”
Grace nodded and Danny felt his heart ache in sympathy as he watched her bottom lip quiver. He hated seeing his baby suffering.
“OK, just hang in there, alright? We’re going to be here for about 20 minutes then I’ll take you back to my place and get you curled up on the couch with your favourite movies ok?”
“K’ Danno,” the 10-year-old replied weakly as she squeezed her eyes shut. Danny stood up and grabbed the waste paper basket from beside his desk and put it next to the couch.
“If you feel like you’re going to throw up you can use this garbage can, ok?” the detective instructed gently. “I have to run downstairs and take a file to someone. I won’t be gone too long and the front door is locked, ok?”
Grace nodded one more time and Danny leaned over her to kiss her too warm forehead. He hated the fact that he couldn’t take her right home but the prosecuting attorney had demanded to see Danny’s notes on the Diaz case immediately and Steve, Kono and Chin hadn’t been in the office when the school called and told Danny that Grace had been sick in her classroom. Since he didn’t know when his teammates would return, he’d picked up a sobbing Grace from school and brought her back to Five-0 headquarters for the few minutes he would need to meet with the Prosecuting Attorney. As soon as he was done he’d take her back to his place and make some of his grandmother’s chicken soup.
Danny left the office locking the main doors behind him. He hated leaving his baby alone for even a few minutes, but with no one else around he didn’t have much choice.
Grace lay on Danno’s couch trying not to think about throwing up again. Barfing in the class had been so gross – especially with all of her classmates making “ewww” sounds. At least she’d barfed into her Hello Kitty backpack instead of throwing up on the floor, but still, it was so embarrassing. Danno had promised to get her a new backpack.
The little girl lay heavily on the couch unable to sleep but too tired to move. Maybe Danno would make her some of great-grandma Mabel’s chicken soup. That always helped.
The child blinked her eyes open as she heard voices coming down the hall. She recognized her Uncle Steve’s deep voice immediately. Usually she’d run out into the main office and throw herself in his arms then hug Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono, but she just didn’t feel well enough to do that today. She heard the key in the lock and the sound of Uncle Chin laughing.
“...guy’s a jerk!”
Grace heard her Aunt Kono snort in derision.
“He’s a typical haole. Sometimes I feel like punching that smirk right off his face.”
“He thinks because he’s from the mainland that he’s better and smarter than everyone else,” Steve groused as the team walked further into the room. Grace perked up a bit at that. Were they talking about her Danno?
“I just get tired of the self-righteous attitude,” Steve finished with a sigh. “I feel like telling him to fuck off. I can’t stand working with him and that accent grates on my nerves.”
Grace’s heart stilled in her chest and she sat up slightly to be able to hear more clearly. Why was Uncle Steve saying such mean things about Danno?
“I wish the Governor could find a way to get rid of him,” agreed Chin. “He’s an arrogant ass.”
“Maybe we can take him out fishing and drop him over the side?” Kono snickered loudly.
The two men laughed along with her and Grace felt her throat close up as she fought back tears.
“Eh, he’d just find a way to swim back to shore and screw up our lives even more,” replied Steve with a chuckle. “I guess we’re just going to have to suck it up and accept that we’re stuck with the man for the foreseeable future. Maybe he’ll get the hint and move back to his beloved mainland.”
“Well if I have to suck it up I’m going to need coffee,” replied Chin. “Lots of coffee. You guys want to come with me?”
Grace heard the sound of the main door opening and closing and the key turning the lock once again. The little girl sat on the couch stunned. She thought Danno and Uncle Steve were best friends and the team was Ohana. Why didn’t they like Danno anymore? Grace wrapped her arms around her torso and began to cry quietly. Would Danno have to move away now? She didn’t want to live in Hawaii without Danno.
Several minutes later Danny entered his office to find a sobbing Grace curled up against the arm of the couch. His gut twisted anxiously. He hurried over and knelt down in front of his daughter putting his hands on her shoulders.
“Monkey? Hey sweetie what’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
“I want to go home!” the child wailed miserably. Danno gathered her up in his arms and rocked her gently. He could have fucking kicked himself for bringing her here – case or no case.
“Ok, baby, ok. We’re going right now alright? I’ll make you some of grandma’s chicken...”
“No!” the little girl sobbed. “I want to go to be with Mommy!”
Danny furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. When she was sick Grace usually liked having her Danno around to rub her tummy and tell her funny stories.
“But today is your day with me,” the detective responded trying not to sound disappointed. Sometimes children just needed their moms. Hell when he was sick he needed his mom too. What he got was a 175 pound Navy SEAL with Florence Nightingale tendencies.
“Mommy!” the little girl demanded her voice muffled from where her face was buried in her father’s shoulder.
Danny held her close with one hand then began stroking her hair with the other as he carried her out of his office.
“OK, sweetie. Anything you want. I’ll take you to Mommy’s house.”
**********
Danny rolled his eyes as he saw Rachel’s name pop up on his ringing phone. It had been two days since he’d dropped a sick Grace off at her mother’s house. He knew his little girl was better and going back to school tomorrow so he couldn’t imagine why his ex-wife was calling. Ever since their latest custody battle Danny had a tough time talking civilly to the woman who’d tried to destroy his life – again.
“Hello, Rachel,” he answered coolly, trying not to drum his fingers on his desk top. He looked up through the glass walls of his office to see each of his teammates in their own offices. No way for him to signal to them to come and fake an emergency that would get him off the phone earlier.
“Danny, has something happened at work?” Rachel began without preamble. “Are you having some sort of problem with Steve?”
Danny furrowed his brow in confusion.
“What? Where is this coming from?”
“Grace seems to think there’s some sort of problem between you and your team, but she won’t tell me what it is. I reminded her that you’re taking her to her Uncle Steve’s for a barbeque this Saturday and she said she didn’t want to go. She said she hates her Uncle Steve.”
The detective widened his eyes in horror and stood up abruptly to pace the office.
“She said what? Are you sure? She adores Steve and he adores her.”
Rachel sighed in frustration.
“I can only tell you what she told me. She said she hates Uncle Steve, that he’s mean and so are Chin and Kono.”
Danny pressed his lips together as he fisted his free hand and rested it on his hip.
“Rachel, if this is some kind of ploy for you to take me back to court...”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Daniel!” the British woman snapped angrily. “I would never use our daughter that way and you know it. I’m simply repeating what Grace told me. She said she thinks you should leave Five-0 and go back to HPD.”
Danny felt the anger drain out of him to be replaced by worry and concern. He rubbed a hand over his face.
“Look...can I come by and see her? I need to figure out what the hell is going on.”
“Yes, I think you should come right away. Whatever has happened to make her feel this way has upset her terribly.”
Danny ended his call with his ex-wife and bolted out of the office. He hurried over to Steve’s office and pushed the door open without knocking.
“I need to leave for a while. I’ve got to go see Grace.”
Steve looked up worriedly at the anxious tone in Danny’s voice.
“Has something happened? Is Grace ok?”
Danny opened his mouth to tell Steve what Grace had said but thought better of it. He knew how much Steve loved Grace and he didn’t want to upset the man with the little girl’s words if he didn’t need to.
“No I...she’s ok, it’s just...something’s upset her so I need to go and see her.”
Steve stood up and walked over to the detective looking down at him anxiously.
“Want me to come?”
Danny shook his head firmly.
“No, no. It’s fine. It’s probably nothing. Don’t worry about it ok? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Steve furrowed his brows worriedly but nodded.
“Take your time, Danno. Just make sure Grace is ok.”
**********
Grace shook her head and buried her face into her stuffed monkey’s fuzzy torso.
“I don’t want to,” she whined softly.
Danny sat at the edge of her pink princess bed, Rachel hovering near the door behind him. For some reason Grace was reluctant to tell her father why she’d changed her feelings about Steve and the rest of the team and that worried him more than anything. The two had always been able to talk.
“Why, sweetie?” Danny responded gently. “Why won’t you tell me why you don’t like Uncle Steve and the others anymore?” He reached over and wrapped a hand gently around one of his daughter’s ankles. “Did they say something to hurt your feelings? I’m sure they didn’t...”
Grace shook her head still refusing to meet her father’s eyes.
The blonde man sighed in frustration.
“Grace,” he spoke more firmly this time. “Baby, you know you can always talk to Mommy or to me. There is nothing you can’t tell us ok? If Uncle Steve or Kono or Chin have done or said something to upset you I want you to tell me what it is. Maybe we can fix it.”
“It...” Grace looked up at her father for the first time since he’d entered her room and his stomach twisted at the tears pooling in her eyes. “It’s mean,” she replied in a quavering voice. “It will make you sad.”
Danny sighed again. He stood up and gathered his daughter in his arms then sat down on the bed leaning up against the headboard holding her tightly against his body. Rachel moved over quietly and sat near them taking one of Grace’s small hands in her own.
“Baby,” Danny spoke softly, his lips against his daughter’s temple. “Just tell me, ok? Even if it makes me sad I’ll get over it. It makes me a lot sadder to see you so upset.”
Rachel nodded and gave her daughter’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“Please, darling, tell Daddy what’s wrong,” she encouraged.
Grace pulled her lips between her teeth for a moment and closed her eyes tightly before she spoke.
“Unc-Uncle Steve and Uncle Chin and Aunt Kono said mean things about you,” she whispered brokenly.
Danny furrowed his brows. The last time all five of them had been together had been a month ago. Was Grace just reacting now to something she thought they’d said?
“I don’t understand, sweetie. When did you hear Steve and Chin and Kono saying mean things about me?”
Grace took in a shuddering breath and finally let the words spill out.
“On Tuesday when you took me to your office when I was sick. They came back while you were gone and they...they said really mean things.”
Danny cocked his head in surprise. He wasn’t aware that the team had come back to the office since they weren’t there when he’d returned to take Grace home.
“Sweetie, what did they say?”
Grace sniffled loudly.
“They called you a haole and said they hated working with you and they wished you’d go back to the mainland. Aunt Kono said they should take you out in a boat and drop you over the side.”
Danny opened and closed his mouth uselessly for a moment. He felt like he’d been punched in the gut.
“Grace, sweetie,” croaked hoarsely. “Are you sure about what you heard? How do you know they were talking about me?”
“Cause they talked about you being from the mainland. Uncle Steve said he doesn’t like your accent.”
Danny looked up at Rachel with wide, horrified eyes and he saw the look returned. This couldn’t be true. Grace had to have been mistaken. The Five-0 team was his family, they all loved each other. They might drive each other crazy once in a while but they were close friends.
Danny took several deep breaths before forcing a pained smile to his face.
“Listen, Monkey, I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding, ok? I’m going to talk to them and find out what happened. Maybe they were just joking or...I don’t know, but I’m going to find out and everything is going to be just fine.”
**********
Danny walked up to the main doors of the Five-0 offices and stood staring through the glass to see Steve, Chin and Kono standing around the tech table laughing about something. He watched them for several seconds while they remained unaware of his presence. They were obviously having a good time together and why not? They had all grown up on the island. This was their home and they were happy here – happy to be with their own kind.
For a brief moment he felt like it was early 2010 and he was back with the HPD where everyone hated and resented him and talked about him behind his back – usually loud enough for him to hear. A wave of loneliness of a kind he hadn’t experienced in three years washed over him but he fought it back. No. There was no way he was wrong about these people. He was a detective for god’s sake. If someone hated him he knew it. Being hated came with the job. Danny swallowed nervously and pushed open the door. Steve looked up and smiled briefly before sobering at the look on Danny’s face.
“Danno? Everything ok?” he asked worriedly as Kono and Chin turned to look at him with the same worried expression on their faces.
“Grace isn’t still sick is she?” asked Kono, her voice tinged with concern.
The blonde man gave her a weak smile and shook his head. He walked over to stand beside Steve at the tech table and shifted nervously from foot to foot. For some reason he couldn’t seem to look them in their eyes.
“No she’s...she’s fine it’s just...ummm...” Danny felt his throat tighten and he cleared it loudly. He almost flinched when Chin grasped his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“What is it, brah?”
Danny took in a ragged breath and looked up at each of his teammates individually.
“Do you...Do any of you have something you’d like to tell me?”
The three other officers looked at him in confusion for a moment, then at each other before looking back at Danny.
“N-no,” Steve drew the word out. “What are you talking about, Danno?”
Danny licked his lips nervously and turned his attention to Steve.
“On Tuesday, the day Grace got sick, I brought her back here for a few minutes so I could take some paperwork to Mr. Chen...she...she was laying on my couch, you probably didn’t see her.”
The three team members shook their heads. They hadn’t noticed the little girl.
Danny ran a nervous hand through his hair.
“Anyway, she overheard you guys talking...she thinks you were talking about me and,” he dropped his eyes again and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “She said you were insulting me, saying you hated me and hated working with me.”
Danny glanced up to see each of his teammates go pale, their mouths dropping open and their eyes widening with horror.
“She? What?” choked Kono as she gripped the edge of the tech table, “We didn’t...”
Chin waved a hand at his cousin to quench her next words before turning back to face the blonde man.
“Danny what exactly did she say we said?”
The detective shrugged slightly.
“She said you called me a haole and that you wished I’d leave Hawaii and that Kono thought you should drop me into the ocean.”
Steve and the two cousins looked at each other in confusion for another moment before realization seemed to dawn at the same time.
“Danny, no, we weren’t...” Kono began but Steve put his hand up, palm out, to stop her from speaking. He grabbed Danny by the upper arm and began pulling his partner across the bullpen towards the door. Danny struggled and tried to plant his feet to keep Steve from tugging at him.
“Wait, what the hell are you doing?” the blonde man demanded angrily. “Where are we going?”
Steve stopped pulling and turned to face his partner tipping his head down to look in Danny’s eyes.
“We’re going to Rachel’s house right now. We’re going to talk to you and Grace together ok? I’ll explain everything there.”
**********
Grace sat on an easy chair in front of the television in the Edwards’ den. The little girl looked up and stiffened immediately when she saw the entire Five-0 team troop into the room led by her Uncle Steve. She folded her arms on her chest and stuck out her bottom lip giving her uncles and aunt an icy stare. Steve actually had to struggle not to laugh; the look was a mirror image of a pissed off Danny.
Danny came over and picked Grace up. He sat down in the chair and put her on his lap while the team formed a loose semi-circle around the chair. Finally Steve knelt down in front of them.
“Gracie, sweetheart,” he began gently. “Danno told us what happened on Tuesday and what you overheard but I want you to know we were NOT talking about Danno. You have to believe me.”
Chin nodded quickly from where he stood to Steve’s left.
“That’s right, honey. We would never say anything mean about Danno. We weren’t talking about him.”
“You were talking about a haole mainlander with an accent,” Grace replied her voice tight with anger, her little hands bunched into fists, “that’s Danno.”
Steve shook his head and reached out to touch the little girl lightly on the knee before pulling his hand back.
“No, sweetie, we weren’t talking about Danno. We were talking about a guy from the FBI that we’ve had to work with. He drives us all a little crazy.”
Danny perked up at that, understanding finally dawning on him.
“Baranski?”
Steve looked up at his partner and nodded before turning his attention back to the little girl.
“Yes, Jacob Baranski. He’s an FBI agent here on the island. He’s...well he’s not a nice guy and he’s hard to work with. He thinks Hawaiian cops are silly and he’s pretty rude.”
Grace looked doubtfully at Steve for a moment.
“You said he had an accent.”
Chin knelt down next to Steve.
“He does. He’s from the south. Usually southern accents are nice, but his is kind of annoying. Maybe that’s just because we don’t like him.”
Grace chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before looking at each of the team members in turn.
“So you don’t hate Danno?” she asked nervously.
Steve let out a gust of air he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and shook his head firmly. He put one of his hands over Grace’s and the other over his partner’s before giving them both a squeeze. He smiled up at his partner before meeting the little girl’s gaze again.
“No, sweetie, of course not. We love Danno, you know that. He’s our friend, our Ohana. He’s like a brother to me. Danno is a very, very important part of the team and we couldn’t do our jobs without him.”
Danny flushed and rolled his eyes slightly at that but couldn’t help smiling back at Steve.
Kono reached over to smooth down Grace’s hair with one hand.
“We’re a family Grace, you and your dad, Steve, Chin and me. We wouldn’t do anything to break up our family.”
As the team watched, a slow, happy smile spread across Grace’s face. She scrambled off her father’s lap and threw her arms around Steve’s neck. The SEAL let out a relieved breath and wrapped his arms around the little girl tightly while climbing to his feet.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Steve,” the little girl spoke quietly. “I’m sorry I thought you didn’t like Danno anymore.”
“That’s ok, Grace. I don’t blame you for getting mixed up but just remember what Aunt Kono said. We’re a family and we love your dad...and you.”
Danny stood as well.
“Sorry,” he mumbled feeling shame cause his face to flush. “I was pretty sure you hadn’t said those things but...she just seemed so sure.”
Steve reached over and wrapped one of his large hands around the back of Danny’s neck and gave it a gentle squeeze. He smiled fondly at his partner.
“Can’t blame you. You are a loud-mouthed mainlander with a funny accent. Anyone could have made that mistake.”
“Uncle Steve!” Grace scolded as he lowered her to the floor.
“Sorry. Grace,” Steve replied hurriedly giving his partner a grin and a wink.
Danny made a tut-tutting sound and shook his finger in his partner’s face.
“Just for that I think you should buy everyone some shave ice.”
Steve looked over at Grace who was standing between Chin and Kono holding one of their hands in each of hers.
“What do you say, Gracie? Feel well enough for a shave ice?”
The little girl nodded enthusiastically.
“OK, let’s go then! Shave ice all around.” Steve announced cheerfully.
Grace, still holding hands with Chin and Kono led the team out of the house while Steve and Danny followed behind.
Just as they walked out the front door Steve made a show of patting the many pockets of his cargo pants. He looked up at Danny with an embarrassed grin. The blonde man stared at him in disbelief shaking his head slowly from side to side.
“Oh, no...”
Steve shrugged as he closed Rachel’s front door behind him and led the way to the Camaro.
“I’m afraid so, Danno. I’ve forgotten my wallet.”
The end.