Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii 5-0. Just playing in the sandbox.
All mistakes are my own. Hope you enjoy!
Steve McGarrett is starting to think that there might be a hint of truth to Danny's claims that he attracts trouble more than most people. (He thinks that his partner's exact words might have been something along the lines of "crazy super-SEAL trouble magnet, you are to danger what Justin Bieber is to my daughter's deluded age group," but feels that this is an unfair exaggeration.) He is however on the verge of acknowledging that maybe danger does find him more than the average soul. This is a revelation that has been inspired by the fact that he has once again managed to turn what should be a simple task (and one that, apparently, most ordinary humans can perform without any real difficulties at all) into an epic danger filled situation worthy of his aneurism face. Not that he has an aneurism face of course, that's Danny inspired nonsense. But should he have such an expression now would certainly be when he would be employing it.
The former SEAL is fairly convinced, after all, that almost anyone else would have managed to pick Gracie up from school without being kidnapped. And certainly without getting Gracie kidnapped too. He is definitely regretting accepting Danny's plea to collect his child as he sits on the floor of a van, jolting along to who-knows-where, blood dripping irritatingly down the side of his face while he uses one arm to keep a wide-eyed, teary Grace tucked closely into his side (the side furthest from the two balaclava clad men sitting in the back with them).
As a man largely unfamiliar with small children (although, he supposes he is actually more experienced with kids in life-threatening situations than just in normal life), he isn't quite sure what he should be saying to Gracie right now. She is clinging to him, curled up into his side so tightly that it is as if she is trying to transport right through him (presumably to somewhere that isn't the increasingly sweaty van that they are in.) Not sure what else to do Steve gives her what he hopes is a reassuring squeeze, and attempts a comforting smile. When she meets his gaze he wonders if it is humanly possible for eyes to be as wide as hers currently are. He squeezes her to him once more and is sure to meet her gaze.
"It's ok sweetheart," he whispers, trying to remember that he is talking to a scared child and not a SEAL team, and therefore trying to make his voice as comforting as possible, "Danno will take care of all of it. You just hang tight."
This seems to be of some vague comfort because the eyes become slightly less terrifyingly open. Her grip doesn't loosen though.
Steve can't help but think that when he next sees Danny he is going to have a loud and quite physical discussion with him about the meaning of the phrase, "it will be the easiest thing in the world!"
**************************** (About an hour earlier)********************
"It will be the easiest thing in the world!" Det. Danny Williams cried, feeling increasingly desperate.
Their witness was finally talking after refusing to cooperate for over three hours. Of course as good as this was for helping them solve their case it was the most useless timing ever, because Grace needed to be picked up very soon, and the witness was refusing to speak to anyone but him. Sometimes, the detective reflected, he was far too charming for his own good. It was not an observation that he decided to share with his partner.
"All you have to do is drive up to the school, park the car, go to her classroom and collect her. Even you can achieve that without too much trouble!"
McGarrett looked unconvinced. "I dunno Danny, I mean Gracie is a cool kid, but I am not good with kids! And what if there is information that we need to act on straight away? Are you sure you can't get Rachel to grab her and then you can collect her later tonight?"
Danny sighed. "Please? I can't ask Kono because she and Chin are only just on their way back from meeting with the brother. And I certainly can't ask Rachel! The last couple of times I've been meant to pick Gracie up something has come up, usually involving you trying to get me killed in new and exciting ways, and Rachel has had to do it. If I can't do it again today it's just more ammo for her that my job makes me a terrible father!"
Williams knew he had won the minute he finished speaking as his partner nodded slightly and dug into his desk to find his keys. Try as he might to hide it, Steve McGarrett was a big soft marshmallow inside when it came to Danny's relationship with his kid.
"You're doing all my paperwork on this case once Grace is back with Rachel."
Danny watched him go with a grin and went back to interview his witness.
**************************** (Present- In the Van)*******************
Steve wasn't sure if it was him or Grace who was more surprised when one of the balaclava-wearers spoke. They both tensed, and Grace tried to burrow even further into his side.
"You've made a real mess of our plans you know Detective," he said, his voice tinged with an accent that was so gentle it was impossible to identify. It was the shorter of the two men sitting in the back guarding them who spoke, the one who had gifted Steve with the wound still dribbling blood down his face back at the school after he had surrendered his weapon to them.
The former SEAL wasn't entirely sure what to do with that sentence, because none of it made sense. He wasn't a detective, and surely it was little Grace who had ruined their plans by being in the wrong place at the wrong time (and, unfortunately, not following his bellowed instruction to "run!" quite fast enough.) He decided to wait and see where the man would go though, and so settled for shifting his body slightly further between the little girl and the big scary bad man.
"We weren't expecting you to be picking your daughter up today from school and assumed we would have a much easier time grabbing her than we did."
Steve's brain had started playing the music from Psycho. They thought he was Danny! And they hadn't been after him or his partner; they had been after poor little Grace from the beginning! He wasn't entirely sure what to do with this information and so sat tight, trying to work out if it would be better or worse to reveal that he was in fact not who they thought he was.
Sadly, Grace was not a telepath and had missed this part of the plan, because she unlocked herself from Steve just long enough to glare at the kidnapper and announce, much to his chagrin, that they were too stupid to catch her Daddy, that this was her Uncle Steve instead, and when her Daddy did find them they would be in huge trouble. Any doubts Steve might have had that Grace and Danny were definitely related vanished at this point.
Steve couldn't see anything of the two men sitting across from them except their eyes under the balaclavas, but the way that they suddenly glowed with intensity made him very nervous indeed. He quickly tucked Grace back in behind him, and tried to get across the idea that she should not annoy the kidnappers anymore with a quick shushing glare.
The stocky kidnapper had picked up a mobile phone and was typing a number.
"Uncle Steve hey?" he said, grinning at the ex-SEAL, "we might be able to do this they way we wanted to after all."
Ok, so first attempt at Hawaii 5-0. We are only up to about ep 6 over here in Aus, but this bunny has been EATING at me! So please excuse if everyone isn't quite right, I'm still trying to get to grips with the characters! Life is mad, but hopefully an update is coming soon. Am hoping it should end up about 5 chapters or so. And definitely some Steve whump (and maybe Danny) coming soon.