The Beginning

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

The characters of Lieutenant Commander Steven 'Steve' McGarrett, Former Detective John 'Johnny / Jack' McGarrett, Detective Meka Hanamoa, Amy Hanamoa and Billy Hanamoa do not belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.

The character of Detective Sergeant Danielle 'Danni' Williams probably can be considered to be mine by now. Although she was originally based on male Danny, she soon evolved becoming her own person. She has her own background, her own family, her own history and her own distinct personality. This isn't to say that the Danny Williams we all know and love is completely gone, he still emerges through her at times. I like to think of female Danni as what Danny could have been if everything in his life had gone his way. As in full custody of Grace and a decent relationship with his ex.

The character of Grace has also changed slightly due to the change in Danni. Her surname is Taylor as this is her father's surname and was Danni's married name (Danni reverted back to her maiden name when she was divorced). Her parents also are amicable which has also impacted Danni but never fear, she's still the sweetheart we know and love, if anything she's more a sweetheart now.

The character of Duncan Taylor, Danni's ex-husband and Grace's father, also belongs to me as does any other character who you do not recognise from the show. Please do not use them, or my version of Danni and Grace without first asking for my permission to do so.

Thank you.

Author Note

Welcome to 'The Beginning', the first in the 'Rewrite Saga'

There's a few points which I need to get across before you begin the story.

This story was written before the most recent episode which showed that male Danny had literally just been handed the case. I thought about going back and adjusting it to become canon compliant but realised that it would be too much work to do and therefore I'm keeping with the idea that Meka and Danni have been on the case from the beginning. I suppose that automatically makes this story an A/U from the beginning but such is life.

As you may have guess from the official disclaimer and the summary, this story features a female Danni Williams in place of a male Danny Williams.

This story came about because a friend of mine challenged me to it. I was discussing the newest series with them over a coffee and we began talking about the change between the old and new series. I'm too young to have watched the first one but I happened to be off the day before and caught one of the episode and saw to my surprise that Kono had originally been a male character instead of the female character she is now. Somehow we got into a discussion about how different the show would have been if another of the main characters was female changing the ration for 3:1 to 2:2 instead. That's when she came up with the idea of me changing Danny into a girl (since Danny is technically a unisex name) and see exactly what changed. My imagination was fired up and here off I went.

Although Danny and Danni share the same name, job and the fact they have a young daughter names Grace, it soon became clear to me that female Danni was evolving into her own complex character, there are some similar characteristics but the way she reacted to things changed, her background changed and her personality began to as well. I like to view female Danni as what make Danny could have been if things had gone his way in life.

The beginning is loosely based on the pilot episode (hence the name). Although it was never my intention to change things it just naturally began to happen and so I went with the flow. The changes which happened are ones which would impact later stories in the Alternative Hawaii Five-O world which I'm creating. The dialogue is different or extended and there are several characters who have a much greater role within these stories than they were allowed to have in the show. I don't have the same constraints on me so I can explore scenes and characters to my heart's content to try and figure out what is really happen. I'm not a fan of 2D characters, in fact I could say that I hate them, so I can promise that every character who you come across in these stories, will have a full history which will eventually come to light, if not in this one than in another one. Everyone, from old well known characters to new ones I've created, all have a part to play in this universe.

The last main point to raise now so I don't have to raise it later is that Danni is a woman of principles and duty but she's also a woman who won't take any crap from anyone. She's the only female Detective on the island and she received a lot of flack and abuse for it not to mention the fact that she's from the mainland which doesn't help her cause. It will soon become clear to you the reader just how much of a bad time she has had. She's currently in self protect mode which means her soft, gooey centre is hidden at present time though Steve and the team will soon drag it out of her.

Danni is no damsel in distress and she'll be Steve's equal in every sense of the word. She has to be a character worthy of not just being Steve's partner but also of earning his respect. The dynamic between the two of them will be different to the show so please be aware of that while reading. This is not Steve and male Danny, this is Steve with a female Danni.

This story is written entirely from Danni's point of view, all other stories after this one, minus the one-shots, will jump between the characters but I wanted this one just to be her.

The character of Steve's dad will be known as John McGarrett. I know some people say it's Jack but I have researched it and it is definitely listed as John. I'm assuming that Jack was a nickname he occasionally went by. Danni having not known him will refer to him as John.

My chapters are extremely long, much longer than my author notes, so please be aware of that.

Hopefully you'll find something in these stories which makes you want to stick around with me.

Enjoy!

Official Summary

When Danni Williams moves to Hawaii, all she wants to do is keep her head down and survive the time she had to stay there. The last thing she expected was to meet Steve McGarrett, a man who seems more intent on getting her blown up and finding out everything about her life than he is about following proper procedure. Danni has a job to do though and one way or another she is going to do it.

Chapter Summary

Danni Williams came awake with a sudden start, jerking her head off of the warm, smooth surface it had been resting on and looked around her in confusion, her hand automatically lowering to her waist where she normally kept her gun.

Overall Romances

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Catherine Rollins (McRollins)

Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)

Hints of Ryan Moore / Danni Williams (Rynni)

Meka Hanamoa / Amy Hanamoa (Mekmy)

Mentions of past John McGarrett / Doris McGarrett (Joris)

Michael Landon / Karen Landon (Micren)

Chapter Romances

Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)

Mentions of past John McGarrett / Doris McGarrett (Joris)

Warning

This story features a female Danni Williams in place of a male Danny Williams. Although in some stories I write, Danny does exist, he does not exist in this one. If this isn't your cup of tea then please hit that back button

Other note

I do not have a Beta so please forgive any mistakes which may creep in, I always do my best to edit the story and check it but sometimes mistakes do creep in.

The places I've mentioned in Hawaii are ones which come from google, including the addresses. I've never been to Hawaii myself in person so I apologise for any mistakes which I may make, these are not intentional.

Chapter One

Just a simple Thursday morning

Thursday 23rd September 2010

Danni Williams and Grace Taylor's home

500 Hakaka Place

Honolulu

Hawaii 96816

Danni Williams came awake with a sudden start, jerking her head off of the warm, smooth surface it had been resting on and looked around her in confusion, her hand automatically lowering to her waist where she normally kept her gun.

She blinked rapidly, tilting her head to the side as she listened carefully for any sound which may have indicated to her that she wasn't alone in the house but there was nothing, the only noise which broke the silence around her was the sound of her own breathing. She reached up and rubbed tiredly at her eyes, feeling the tension slowly ease out of her shoulders as she lowered her hand and looked around her again, this time focusing on the surrounding. Her eyes roamed across the familiar pale yellow walls and wooden cabinets which took up the majority of her spacious kitchen. Everything looked like it had done from the previous evening.

Danni was alone in her house like she should be. The same as she always was every Thursday morning while her seven year old daughter Grace was with her father, leading her to the conclusion that she had just woken up under her own steam.

"Not again Danielle." She muttered to herself, slumping back in the wooden chair as she rubbed at the back of her neck, digging her fingertips into the muscle to try and work out the kinks her awkward sleeping position had left her with. Falling asleep on the kitchen table was beginning to become a bad habit for her and yet it was a bad habit which was becoming more and more frequent an occurrence. It had only become worse since she and her partner Meka Hanamoa had been handed the John McGarrett murder case and ordered by their captain to bring the killer in or to expect a number of equally shitty cases to come their way as punishment.

Normally solving a case wouldn't be a problem for them and that had been proven with this case as well, they had known by the end of their first day investigation what had happened to John McGarrett within his home on the day of his death. The problem that she and Meka were facing was locating the man who had committed the homicide in the first place.

Danni glanced towards the kitchen window, her eyes lingering briefly on the sunlight which was spilling through the gaps in the blind and onto the clear counter tops. Sunlight which told her two things; firstly, that she had slept through until the morning, wasting precious time which she had needed to double check through their evidence reports and secondly that it was going to be yet another scorcher of a day in Paradise, something which Danni could have happily have done without.

She breathed out nosily, her eyes moving away from the window to stare down at the numerous photographs and reports which were spread out across the kitchen table.

Normally she would have had the files and their contents safely out of sight, worried that the sight of the gruesome photographs would scar Grace if she happened to see them but last night she had been able to have them out and spend her time properly looking through them, making notes in her notebook over the small things which didn't quite add up. Not that it had really done her any good. All they had was the name Victor Hesse and absolutely nothing evidence wise to link him to the case. All they had was a witness statement from John McGarrett's son who had been on the phone to Hesse during the murder.

As much as she hated to admit it, there was no way that the statement would be enough to convince a jury of Hesse's guilt. It wouldn't even be enough to convince the DA's office to prosecute the case in the first place. If they didn't have the forensic evidence to support the case then Hesse would simply walk and disappear from Hawaii and there would be nothing which she or Meka could do about it. A witness statement however compelling it might be, would not be enough to put Hesse behind bars where he belonged. They had to find something else.

Danni reached down and picked up one of the photos from the top of the pile and stared down thoughtfully at the undamaged face of John McGarrett. She wondered whether he had any idea that three months after the photo had been taken that he would be brutally tortured within his own home before being shot at point blank execution style while his only son was forced to listen on the phone, unable to help him in any way.

Somehow she doubted it.

He looked normal to her, just like she would expect any sixty eight year old who had lived in Hawaii for the past forty three years to look like. He had been tall for his age and a healthy weight according to the Medical Examiner's report which they had received. His grey hair had been kept short and had shown no sign of him receding or losing his hair. His skin was wrinkled and tanned from continual exposure to the relentless Hawaiian sun. He looked healthy in the picture she held, smiling at his friend who had taken the shot though Danni could detect a tenseness around his pale blue eyes and mouth as though he was troubled by something. Something which he had been unable to stop thinking about even while on a fishing trip with a group of friends. Whether that issue was something to do with his murder was something she didn't know but it was an angle which she needed to look into.

She and Meka had been working under the general assumption that John McGarrett's death was a direct result of his son's job as a SEAL but perhaps they had been looking at the case from the wrong angle. She had heard John being referred to as a tenacious bastard more than once, mostly with a fond tone of remembrance but if John had been looking into something, something which he shouldn't have been, then perhaps Hesse hadn't been there because of McGarrett's son at all, perhaps Hesse had been sent because of something McGarrett had done or something which he had found which wasn't meant to be found.

The question was that if the case wasn't actually linked to the son, then what had McGarrett been looking into which had caused his death?

Her mind drifted back to the crime scene, her eyes narrowing slightly as she reran what she had seen there in her mind. There could have been something which she had missed the first time round, something which she had seen but hadn't realised the significance of at the time. It was difficult to know though, she and Meka had been wrapping up another case when Captain Hookano had arrived at their desk, throwing the file onto Danni's desk and telling them that the case was already three hours old and they had better get their asses over there because CSU were already processing the scene and the uniforms were waiting for them.

They had hightailed it over there in Danni's car but they had been too late, the scene had been crawling with member of the Crime scene unit, taking photographs and samples of everything before the scene was disturbed even further by the uniforms patrolling the area, both inside and outside the taped off crime scene.

They had been approached the moment they had entered the house by Agent Walker Humphries who was one of the three senior field agents who worked in the CSU. He had immediately filled her in on what they had learnt so far and as she had expected the news hadn't been good. CSU had found no discernible fingerprints or fibres from anyone other than John McGarrett within the house. The only thing which they had found out of place was a partial bloody footprint on the study floor. The house had been destroyed but as far as they could tell nothing had been taken which meant that robbery as a motive had instantly been out.

Danni's shoulder had hunched down at the news, a sharp stab of pain in her temple telling her that a tension headache had begun to brew.

The likelihood of them being able to match the partial footprint to Hesse was slim to none and even if by some miracle they did manage it then the defence would simply argue that it was a common sole tread and anyone could have purchased them and been wearing them. The wall behind the body was covered in a fine spray of blood and brain matter. The chair where McGarrett had been sitting had been empty but that hadn't surprised her. The Medical Examiner on duty had been Abbie FitzGerald who was well known for the quickness in which she dealt with the body. John McGarrett would already have been at the morgue by the time they had arrived.

The thing which had bothered her the most was the fact that Hesse had left the murder weapon in plain sight, sitting innocently on the table behind the body.

Why had he left it there?

Victor Hesse must have taken the time to clean the scene of any evidence which could have incriminated or pointed to the fact that he had been in the house and yet he had left the gun in plain view of anyone who entered the study. He had had both the time and the means of disposing it since the initial report which Meka had read out to her while she drove, had stated that it had taken fifteen minutes, from the moment a member of the son's SEAL team had placed an urgent call through to dispatch for the SWAT team to gather themselves and get to the address. In that time he could have easily have taken the gun with him or thrown it into the Ocean which was right outside John McGarrett's back door and yet he hadn't bothered.

The logical answer which had immediately come to her mind was that there was something about the gun which Hesse wanted them to find, either that or he was supremely confident that he had left nothing on the gun for them to find which she doubted. She didn't know much about Hesse but she had known even then that he was a clever and extremely cautious man.

Danni had always hated when a suspect in a case involved themselves in some way or tried to play games with them. Normally she would ignore all attempts and just rely on the other evidence gathered to build the case. This time however there was no other evidence which they could use which meant that they had been forced to follow where Hesse was trying to lead them. It was the only way which they had to find him.

They didn't know much about the man in question, only that Hesse had been the name which McGarrett's son had given his Commanding Officer when they had debriefed him after the event. A report which they had only received the day before. Danni had read the transcript of the interview as soon as it was on her desk. It had been an interesting read, the son, a Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, had been clear and concise in his report, stating that Victor Hesse had made contact with him via his personal cell phone by using his father's cell phone during something which he had called Operation Gemini. Hesse had made an unreasonable demand which McGarrett had been unable to comply with. They had been hit by an ambush and in the resulting gun fight Hesse's brother Anton had been killed, Hesse upon hearing the new had retaliated by killing McGarrett's father.

Danni hadn't picked up on any sign of the grief which Steve McGarrett must have been feeling but she didn't expect to. Military men, especially those within the Special Forces were taught during their training to only stick to the facts. Everything else could wait.

Knowing the name of the man suspected of the crime had been a bonus but it had done her and Meka little good. The Honolulu police department database had no information and every attempt they had made to dig deeper had been stonewalled. She had even gone as far as to contact the Navy, asking to speak to Steve McGarrett directly to question him about Hesse and the way he worked, only to be told that the Commander was currently unavailable to speak to her and a message would be passed to his Commanding Officer saying that she had called and wished to speak to him.

It had been beyond clear after that first day that she and Meka were on their own with the case. If they wanted to find out anything then they would have to rely on themselves or allowed Hesse to escape from Hawaii. They had managed to figure out a few things during one of their many brainstorm sessions. They knew that Hesse was good at fighting and that he had no issues with using a gun. He also clearly had no problem with killing someone meaning that he had done it before. Danni knew that Hesse was still on the island somewhere but where he could be hiding was beyond her at that moment. The lack of knowledge about the way Hesse worked mixed with the fact that she had only been on the island herself for six months and still didn't know the terrain was working against her.

If they couldn't figure out how the way he operated then they would have no chance of finding him.

There was a small part of her which truly believed that the John McGarrett case would go unsolved. The Captain was already growing impatient wanting them on other cases and she knew that he wouldn't wait much longer. The only reason he hadn't yanked them off of it already according to the gossip in the break room was because the Governor was personally involved in the case, demanding updates daily from the Captain making Danni wonder whether there had been something between the Governor and John McGarrett. She knew that she could write up a report that day and Hookano would sign it and passed it over to the two detectives on the unit who worked cold cases while giving her and Meka a new case which could result with the criminal behind bars but she couldn't bring herself to do it or at least she couldn't do it yet.

She owned it John McGarrett to at least look at every possible angle and lead before she was forced to relinquish the case. She owned it to his family to try and give them a sense of closure if she could manage it. Her mind drifting back to the conversation which she had had over the phone with John McGarrett's daughter Mary. A difficult call which had ended up lasting thirty minutes because Danni couldn't bring herself to terminate the call while the other woman sobbed down the phone at her.

The case wasn't over yet.

She and Meka still had until close of play the next day until they had to present their findings to Hookano, forty eight hours in which to break the deadlock surrounding the case. She just needed to be patient and keep digging away at it. If there was a way of locating Hesse then they would find it.

Danni shook herself, dragging her thoughts back to the present day as she glanced down at her watch. It was only twenty to seven which gave her enough time to get ready for work and drive the five minutes separating hers and her ex-husband's houses to pick up Grace to take her to school. Once she had done that than she would head over to the Police station and look over their notes again, digging deeper into John McGarrett's past to see whether he had been looking into something. She had to make sure there was nothing other than the obvious behind this attack.

Danni reached up and pushed her tangled hair away from her eyes before she dropped the picture of John McGarrett back onto the table, pushing her chair back she came to her feet. What she needed was a large mug of coffee, a hot shower and a change of clothes. Once she had done that, not necessarily in that order, than she would be ready to face the day.

Danni yawned, covering her mouth briefly with her hand before she stretched her arms above her head and came up on her tiptoes, letting a groan escape when her spine gave a satisfying crunch. Coming back down, Danni glanced once more towards the papers on the table before she turned and left the room, heading down the corridors towards the stairs which led to the upper floor where her bedroom and attached en-suite were situated. The case could wait for at least twenty minutes before it needed her again.

She had managed to find a large two storied house on the day which it had come up for market and gone to look at it, surprised when she had fallen in love with it the moment she had seen it. Danni hadn't bothered playing games with the realtor, knowing that she needed a place where Grace could feel at home. She had found out the price, using everything which had been in her savings and borrowing from her older sister Caitlin who held a position as vice president in their family business and who had been happy to lend the rest of the money Danni had needed.

Her parents had thought she was mad to buy a property outright in Hawaii but they had soon changed their tune when Danni had sent them pictures and they had realised how much the property would be worth when it came to selling it in the future. The small amount of income which she received monthly from renting out her old home in New Jersey was a god send for her, helping her afford all the little things which Grace needed which a police salary didn't quite cover. It was tighter than she would have liked but they were coping.

It had been worth it when she had seen Grace's face light up in joy and excitement the first time she had seen their new home. A home which had a small swimming pool for Grace and was in a gated community which gave Danni further peace of mind.

Danni might have been fond of their house and the small neighbourhood they lived in but she wasn't greatly fond of the state of Hawaii itself though she made sure to keep her opinion about it to herself. She didn't like the continual hot, sunny weather or the humidity which often accompanied it. That added to the fact that she received nothing but attitude and abuse from her colleagues all added up to a bad experience for her but Grace loved it there and she knew that the small girl loved the fact that her Dad was so close to them and that she was able to spend more time with him so she kept her own feelings about it to herself and instead tried to make the best out of a bad situation she couldn't change. Seeing Grace's wide, happy smile when she found something new which she liked on the island was enough to make Danni forget exactly why she disliked the place so much in the first place.

As long as Grace was happy than Danni would be as well.

If it had been solely up to Danni then she and Grace would never have left New Jersey to move to Hawaii, however it hadn't just been up to her, her ex-husband still had a large say in his daughter's upbringing and was a large part of not just Grace's life but Danni's as well. Duncan worked at a large successful bank which had required him to move around a lot initially. Sometimes he had been based in America, other times he had been in Europe or Asia for months at a time. It had been the distance and lack of contact which had been one of the main reasons for their divorce, that and the fact that they simply didn't love each other that way anymore. They had quickly realised after Duncan had returned from his last posting that they were better as friends than husband and wife. It had still been hard to set the ball rolling on the divorce though, a divorce which had only just come through.

When Duncan had been appointed as manager of the newly opened Hawaiian branch of his bank, a post which he had been told that he would be at for at least two years he had placed his foot down and told her that he wanted both her and Grace to move out to the island so he could still have a relationship with Grace. A relationship which had already suffered in his opinion because of his other postings. Danni had been taken aback by the request but not greatly surprised by it. For all his faults Duncan had always been an amazing father towards Grace, loving and warm and always there whenever possible for the small girl. Danni had argued the point with him, pointing out that taking their daughter out of school when she was in her first year was a bad idea and could cause more harm than good for Grace but he had been adamant about it. He wanted his daughter with him and that was that.

Danni had been worn down, not only by Duncan but also by Grace's pleas to go because she didn't want to not see her Daddy when she had been told about the situation. The final straw had come two months after the initial subject when Duncan had sat her down and informed her that he would fight for Grace and if that meant having to go for custody which was something he didn't want to do, then he would do it. Danni had sighed, half hating him for putting him in the situation and half loving him for being willing to fight for Grace, and had finally agreed.

The thought of having to go up against Duncan for custody had made her sick to her stomach, especially when she couldn't guarantee that she would gain full custody. Not with her job at least.

They had spent the rest of that meal hashing out a custody agreement with each other, one which admitted was made easier by the fact that they were still legally married at that point. They had their lawyers write it up, checked it, and double checked it for good measure before signing it and having a judge sign it.

A month after Danni had given in she and Grace had stepped off a plane which had come from Los Angeles onto an island where they both knew no one other than Duncan who they ended up living with for two months while Danni searched for a house.

That had been six months ago and it was only now that they had their own place and their own routine in place that they were beginning to settle down and Danni was beginning to think that maybe they could survive there.

Danni headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her out of habit and headed over to the bath tub, turning on the shower above it. She waited, humming softly to herself, while the water heated up before she stripped off the vest top and shorts which she had been wearing the previous evening and climbed into the bath, stepping beneath the powerful spray. Danni washed herself, using her favourite shower crème before turning her attention to her hair. Sighing, she turned the shower off once the water began to cool and stepped out, wrapping herself in one of the large pale yellow towels which Grace had been adamant they got from the store because it happened to be her favourite colour at the moment in time.

Danni moved across the floor to the sink and swiped her hand across the steamed mirror before she grabbed her toothbrush, squirted some paste onto it and began to brush her teeth.

Her eyes flickered up absently to focus on her reflection in the glass, taking in her appearance with a critical look. Her long blond hair was already beginning to curl back into its normal waves, if she was quick enough then she would actually be able to do something about it. Large grey eyes set in a pretty fair face stared back at her, her head tilted slightly to the side as she stared with a thoughtful look before shrugging and turning her attention back to her teeth, spitting out the paste into the sink and dumping her brush into the pot before she turned and left the room walking into the attached bedroom.

It didn't take long to go through her morning routine, including the five minutes it took to blow dry her hair and the other five minutes she spent every morning in front of her wardrobe trying to decide what lay ahead in her day so she could pick the best outfit for it. She had a simple rule which she lived by, if she thought the day was going to be active then she would wear trousers with a pretty top, if it was going to be an office day then she would pick out a dress or a skirt-top combo. Today was definitely due to be an office say so she grabbed a simple short sleeved navy blue dress with a flared skirt which ended just above her knees. She pulled it on, whistling to herself as she finished the look with a pair of nude high heels.

Danni glanced at herself in her full length mirror as she brushed her hair, forcing it into the complicated hairstyle she favoured for work and gave a nod of satisfaction as she took in the effect of her choice. She looked professional with the slightest hint of glamour to it. Exactly the look which she had been going for. She had learnt within a day of working at the Honolulu Police Department that they neither wanted nor approved of having a female detective within their ranks and they had absolutely no problem in letting her know it at every given opportunity. Danni had accepted that she was on her own in the place and had resorted to doing small things for herself to make the days bearable. Making sure she looked as feminine as possible day after day was one of the way she had of sticking her middle finger up at each and every one of them who had made their feelings about her clear. If they made such a big deal about the way she looked and the fact that she had been blessed with a feminine figure then she would as well.

Danni turned as the familiar sound of Michael Jackson's smooth criminal shattered the quietness of her home. She looked around her curiously, twisting on the spot as she tried to locate her cell phone before she realised that it must have still been in the living room where she had dumped her bag the previous day. She quickly ran out of the room and down the stairs, grabbing her phone and answered it before it could ring out.

"Detective Williams" She answered in a brisk tone, grabbing her large nude coloured work bag from the sofa.

"Aloha Kakahiaka Danni girl, it's Meka"

Danni smiled at the familiar sound of her partner's cheerful voice as it boomed over the phone line at her. Meka had to be one of the only people who she knew would could sound so happy this early in the morning.

"Hey yourself partner" She replied brightly as she headed out of the living room and back into the kitchen, dumping her bag on the chair before turning her attention to collecting the pages for the McGarrett case back together, making sure that they were in the correct order. "I'm just gathering the file for the McGarrett case together and then I'll be leaving for the office. I'm heading to Duncan's house this morning to pick up Gracie so I can take her to school." She explained.

"Gracie?" Meka responded sounding surprised. "Why do you have to pick her up? I wasn't imagining it when you said yesterday that it was Wednesday and therefore Gracie was Duncan's responsibility?" He questioned.

"Nope you heard me right. He rang me last night, his work has landed him with an urgent early morning meeting with the Japanese branch of the bank. It starts at Seven thirty our time so there's no way he can take her or he'll miss it. He asked if I could pick her up and I said yes which means that you my friend will have to find another way to get to work because I'm not going to be able to pick you up. Not when we both know that Captain Hookano is watching me waiting for me to slip up and make a mistake. If I start being late then he'll rake me over the coals for it and trust me when I say that I'm trying to keep a low profile at the moment after the situation last week with Alika" She reminded him on a sigh.

"I still can't get over that whole mess" Meka said, sounding angry for a moment. "He should know that you…"

"He doesn't though" Danni interrupted. "And even if he did then he wouldn't care. He'd never take my word over Alika's. There's no point getting angry about it though Meka, it won't do any good." She reminded him. For a moment Meka remained silent before he sighed.

"I hate saying it but you're right" He admitted glumly. "Try not to let it get you down, give it time and they'll move onto someone else I've seen it happen before with Rory" He remarked, speaking of Rory Clements, the only other mainlander Detective in the unit other than Danni. "Don't sweat it about driving me into work today, it's no problem, I'll just get my little baby out of the garage and drive myself I today, beside Lolita could use the actions. Babies like her need to be seen and loved by the people or they wilt away." He told her proudly.

Danni began to nod in agreement, picture the grin which would be on his face when she suddenly stopped, her eyes widening as his actual word sank into her mind.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea Meka?" She remarked cautiously. "Maybe it would be a better idea for you to get Amy to drop you off at the office on her way to Billy's school, she's got to pass it anyway or if she's already gone then maybe you should get a taxi in or call one of the other guys to pick you up. You they like so they'd happily do it for you or if you don't want to owe them one then you could always walk in, you live like what? Twenty minutes away or something, it would probably do you some good. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you've been packing on the pounds over the last few weeks or so partner." She stated, her voice trailing off at the sound of disbelief he made. He was silent again, clearly mulling over the options she had given him before he spoke.

"Maybe you could explain to me where this sudden concern over my health has come from Danielle" He asked her, a suspicious tone to his voice which made her smile. "Because I'll have you know that I'm as fit as an ox. Have you and Amy been talking about it again because the two of you together is more a cause of concern for me then my health is because you keep teaming up and double teaming me." He said. Danni rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Your wife may have mentioned something to me the last time we had coffee together." She admitted, opening her mouth to speak when he beat her to it.

"Traitor" He said in mock accusation. "You're meant to be my partner and have my back in all things. It's in the handbook, I can highlight it and show it to you if you want" He told her.

"Yeah, well the handbook has never had to deal with Amy Hanamoa before or it would change the rule" She retorted back, grinning when he burst out laughing at the comment.

"Too true Makamaka, too true." He agreed once he had stopped laughing.

"Besides partner, your wife is my best friend here. If she asks me to keep an eye on you while we're at work to make sure you're safe then I'm going to do it. Hell I'd do it even if she didn't ask me to because you're my partner. The reason for my concern right now is the fact that your little baby as you call your car…"

"Lolita" He corrected instantly causing her to sigh.

"Fine, Lolita is a death trap on wheels and you know call it crazy and everything but I don't particularly want to have to don my dress blues and go to your funeral my friend. That car mixed up with your crazy racer boy of driving is just an accident which is waiting to happen." She remarked.

"While I appreciate your concern for me Danni, I feel like I need to remind you that Lolita who you're so casually insulting in your roundabout way is what many people would consider a classic car which you should respect. There's several people on the island who would give up one of their limbs for the chance to drive or own Lolita" He stated, sounding offended.

"You want me to respect your car?" She said, waiting until he made a sound of acknowledgement at the back of her throat before she continued. "Okay, let me explain something to you Meka, the day that I respect that pile of junk which you refer to as a classic is the day when it can make it from one side of the island to the other without breaking down and needing a tow. You know once Lolita has actually managed to perform the basic function that it was created to do."

"It sounds to me like you're issuing me a challenge there Danni" Meka said gleefully. She could see the grin on his face when she closed her eyes, if she knew him as well as she thought she did then he would be rubbing his hands together as well, his cell phone trapped between his ear and shoulder to allow him to perform the action.

"I don't think the word challenge was mention at all." She informed him mildly. "But if you do decide to take it up then make sure you give me plenty of warning so I can make sure that mine and Grace's calendars are free for it to cheer you on oh and just to clarify when I say cheer you on what I really mean is that we'll be there to call the tow truck because rest assured my friend, you will break down and you will need a tow again" She said confidently.

"Danielle, you're my partner, you're meant to have faith in me so where exactly is that faith?" Meka complained, the comment causing Danni to snort down the phone at him.

"Where is the faith Meka?" She repeated, slipping the file into her bag before she shouldered it, glancing round the kitchen to make sure she had everything which she needed before she carried on speaking. "Need I remind you partner that I'm the person who you call every time Lolita breaks down to come and pick you up and to take you wherever it is you're going in the first place. You may have thought that I had forgotten about them all but trust me you'd be wrong. There is a tally chart on my fridge at this very moment which gets a mark added to it every time you call and with the amount there are it means you're going to owe me big time. Like cover for me when I next go back to New Jersey."

"Wait, you've been keeping a tab on that?" He asked sounding almost surprised. "And here I was thinking all this time that you helped me out of the goodness of your heart."

"The first twenty times that you rang me it was because of that very reason" Danni agreed, nodding even though she knew he couldn't see it. "But now? Now I pick you up because I'm terrified about what Amy would do to me if she found out that I had abandoned you. I like to think I'm a brave person Meka but I'm not that brave."

"No one is that brave Danni" Meka agreed fervently causing them both to laugh.

"You know if we're ever desperate then we can always put her in with our suspects, five minutes with Amy and they'll be willing to tell us anything." Danni suggested with a grin as Meka laughed.

"Yeah I dare you to mention that to her next time you're round for dinner, I'd love to see her reaction." He stated.

"She'd probably love the idea especially if it meant you getting home quicker each night" Danni pointed out before she changed the subject. "So what can I do for you any way or did you just call because you missed my voice or something?"

"I only saw you yesterday Danni" He pointed out "It pretty hard to miss someone's voice after so short a time so yeah, definitely not the reason for the call."

"And to think that some people actually think you're charming." Danni responded dryly.

"I appreciate you noticing that partner, it's one of the many gifts I possess and I must have done something right because Amy did marry me after all"

"There are so many responses I could give for that answer but I'm not going to because It would be too easy" Danni replied serenely. "Anyway all joking aside what can I do for you. If you're ringing to ask me to get the coffee in again today then you can forget it. The last time I checked I had gotten the coffee the last three times which makes it your turn. You can grab us a couple of muffins as well since you didn't bring any snacks to the stakeout we had to do last week. Don't think that I didn't notice you stealing my food."

"Yeah well you shouldn't be such a good cook then and then you wouldn't have this problem would you now Danni. Besides I brought myself to the stakeout, what more could you possibly have wanted?" He asked before he sighed down the phone, dropping his jokey manner. "I'm calling because Hookano rang me about ten minutes ago telling me that he needs my input on another case so you'll be on your own for the McGarrett murder today, or at least you will be for the morning. I don't see this extra work taking long, probably just the morning so I should be back with you in the afternoon. We should probably go through everything again and see if we've missed something that could narrow our search for Hesse down."

"That's fine Meka, I'll be in the office most of the morning running through some other leads, and then I'll head over to the McGarrett house and have another look around. I don't know why but I feel like we're missing something there, something which is stupidly obvious that's going to have us kicking ourselves when we finally figure out what it is." She remarked thoughtfully.

"Well if anyone is going to find anything there then it's going to be you Danni." Meka said confidently. "Just like you managed to find the third person who we had originally missed in our last case. I'm pretty sure that we closed that case because of you and the fact that you managed to link it all together." He told her warmly causing her to smile.

"Don't remind me about that guy Meka, I had enough of him to last a life time. There's nothing like being hit on by a low life drug dealer to make a girl feel all special and tingly inside." She said, shuddering at the memory of having to interview the guy. Those sort of experiences were the ones which she could do without.

"Yeah well regardless of his lame ass attempts to come onto you, you still managed to break him during interrogation so clearly whatever you were saying to him worked. We all have to make sacrifices for this job Danni girl and I'm afraid that your burden to bear to put the scum we chase behind bars is to be hit on by the majority of them." He pointed out. Danni opened her mouth to reply when she heard another voice and Meka's muffled response before he spoke, his voice clear again. "I've got to head off now hoaloha. You take care of yourself this morning though if you're going to be working in the office like you think then I'll see you there. I get the feeling that this job for the captain will have me glued to my desk for most of the morning."

"You know Meka, one day I'm going to get around to learning the Hawaiian language just so I can figure out what it is that you've been calling me for all these months. If I find out it's something rude than I can promise you that I'm going to go all dive on your ass and trust me when I say that I can go diva with the best of them. It tends to be drilled into you when you've been raised from a young age in New Jersey" She said, taking a deep breath and ignoring the sound of his laughter as she continued speaking. "I'll see you in the office, good luck on your case. Just remember that we're trying to keep the Captain on the good side of us,"

"As if I could forget it, just do me a favour and be on your best behaviour, just because you aren't in the Captain's sight it doesn't mean that he doesn't have people watching you Danni, You're the best partner I've had, let's not give him a chance to split us up." He warned her before he hung up the phone.

Danni stared down at the handset for a moment before she dropped it in her bag and made her way through the house and out of the door. She set the alarm and headed down the path to the gate which she pulled open before heading back to the silver car in her drive. She had had to borrow the car from Duncan while her own Camaro was in the garage being fixed after a high speed chase which she and Meka had somehow found themselves involved in. She liked the car but she was missing her own and couldn't wait to get it back. She glanced to the passenger side of the car, a smile coming to her face when she caught sight of the large pink cuddly rabbit which Danni and Meka's wife Amy had spent all of Saturday morning searching for her. Grace has told her the previous week that they were having a pet show and tell at the private school which Duncan had insisted she went to.

She had considered getting Grace a real life rabbit but had decided against it with the idea that Grace could have one when she was around nine or ten and able to look after it herself. The cuddly toy had been an alternative. Grace was still young enough at seven not to be embarrassed by such a thing.

Danni pulled open the driver's door and lowered herself into the seat, throwing her bag into the rabbit's lap before closing the door behind her, her eyes lingering on her house before she reversed out of the drive. She quickly left the car, closing the gate behind her before getting back in and driving towards the house where her baby was currently waiting for her. It has taken Danni a total of four months to finally be able to understand the basic outline of the island and that was only because Amy had taken her pity one weekend after she had gotten lost on her way to their house and driven her round, showing her all of the shortcuts which she would need to get to the places she would regularly need to go.

Danni thanked her lucky stars on a daily basis that Hookano had chosen Meka to be her partner the first day. Out of a unit of twenty five other Detectives, Danni could name exactly four who didn't treat her as though she was sub species of human which needed to be eradicated. Meka was one of them while Rory Clements's the other Detective from the mainland was another one of them. The other two had surprised her, Detective Keawe was a Detective in his late forties who had been on the force for as long as anyone and who actually treated her with respect while the other one was Detective Kaiwi who was a couple of years older than she was. Meka was convinced the man wanted to get into her pants but Danni had an inkling that it would be more likely that Meka was more Kaiwi type though she kept silent about it. Not willing to isolate one of the only people who actually said good morning to her and was willing to help if she needed it.

The rest of the squad room treated her like dirt, calling her a Haole to her face and mocking the fact that she was the only woman in the department, not only that but she was the youngest out of them and stood at five feet tall without her heels on. The whole delicate beauty which she has been blessed with did nothing to endear her to any of them either. She had lost count of the number of times things had gone missing from her desk and god only knew how many bottles of sun cream were being stored in her drawer now. At least they had drawn the line at doing any severe hazing but she had the feeling that Meka and Keawe was responsible for that.

Danni was determined not to rise to the bait and instead she ignored them, treating them politely but indifferently, barely giving any of them the time of day. She held onto her temper each day, unleashing it in the car where she would let go and talk to Meka until her voice gave out. It was a recent develop since the first four months she had remained quiet with him but she was slowly beginning to feel better now that she had someone who she could talk to. Meka's mouth had fallen open the first time she had let loose but now he merely would listen, a soft smile on his face before he would say something that stopped her anger and leave her reluctantly smiling at him.

They had bonded quickly, getting on from that first day and Danni soon came to rely on Meka and to call him friend. He had taken her back to his within two weeks of knowing her so she could meet Amy and their small son Billy. Within three weeks Meka had began calling her Hoaloha or makamaka which Danni has assumed was some sort of term of affection like buddy. A month later Danni had introduced Grace to the small family of three and their friendship and bond had been cemented. Six months on Danni viewed Meka as not just one of her closest friends but as a brother who she would do anything for. A feeling she knew was mutual.

If meeting Meka had been a blessing than meeting Amy had been a miracle as she had found herself taken under the wing of the other woman giving her a much needed friend of the same sex who was only two to three years older than she was. She hadn't realised until Amy had entered her life just how much she had needed someone who she could call up to chat with or to go out with to do some shopping or get their nails done. Just simple things which she used to do with her mother and her older sister back when she was in Jersey. Add the fact that Billy was only a year or so younger than Grace and Danni was in heaven, knowing that she could bring Grace with her and the small girl wouldn't be bored. They were like a mini family of their own, Ohana Amy had called it and Danni was glad.

She pushed the thought out of her head as she turned into the enclosed area where Duncan lives, waiting at the gate for a moment before it opened allowing her access to the gated community. She drove down the road, parking outside one of the big houses and killed the engine, hunting through her bag for a moment before producing her cell phone. She pressed down on the number two button and brought the handset to her ear, tapping her finger against the back of it as she waited for her ex-husband to pick up.

"Hey Danni, you outside? Thanks again for doing this, I'm going to owe you for this" Duncan said, his voice calm and steady over the phone line, the same as it always was. Hardly anything ruffled Duncan up she had found.

"Morning Duncan, it's not a problem. I'd prefer you call me then let her walk to the school" She replied "How is she? Did she sleep okay?"

"She's fine and as far as I know she slept like a rock. How are you? Still trying to solve the McGarrett case" He asked her absently, sounding as though he was searching something which wouldn't have surprised her. Duncan had always been misplacing things.

"I'm fine Duncan and you know I can't answer that questions, its need to know" She reminded him.

"You and your need to know. You want to come in for a coffee? There's time before my meeting begins and I've got some on brew already" He offered.

"That's more tempting then you know but I can't I need to make a call. If you can just send Grace out to me this time then I'd appreciate it Duncan. We both know how much she would complain if she was late and tarnished her perfect record." Danni remarked, her mouth quirking up into a half smile when he laughed at her remark.

"We'd never hear the end of it" Duncan agreed "As soon as she's down from brushing her teeth I'll send her out to you. See you later" He said, waiting until she said her goodbyes before hanging up the phone. Danni dropped the handset onto her lap for a moment before she turned her attention back to her bag, pulling out the file. If Grace was still upstairs brushing her teeth then it would mean that Danni had at least five minutes to make her phone call.

Resting the file on top of her bag she opened it, flipping through the pages until she found the ballistic report which she wanted. She re-skimmed it, making sure she had all the information she required before picking her cell up and dialling the number she needed, she waited, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel as she waiting for the call to be picked up.

"Hello, you're through to the Honolulu Police Department, how may I direct your call today?" A bland female voice answered.

"Hello, my name is Detective Danielle Williams badge number 7576. I need to be placed through to the department which deals with getting a trace set up on a suspect" Danni responded politely, there was a brief silence, broken by the sound of typing before the woman spoke again.

"You'll need to speak to Lieutenant Akuna Detective Williams. Please hold the line while I transfer the call over to his Department."

Danni breathed out, frowning slightly as a random, happy tune came over the phone line. She had often wondered why the waiting music people picked was always guaranteed to drive the person waiting insane. There was plenty of amazing tracks out there so why not pick one of them.

"Hello Detective Williams are you there? This is Lieutenant Akuna speaking." A male voice stated, breaking through the song. He sounded as though he was in his fifties with a surprisingly gruff voice.

"Yes, I'm still here Lieutenant" Danni answered, sitting up straight in her chair.

"Excellent, I apologise for the wait I was just finishing another query. I was informed by Barbara that you require a trace to be laced on a suspect?" He queried.

"That's correct" Danni agreed, tilting her head so she could see the report again, her eyes scanning the picture of the angry man glaring at her from the mug shot as she continued to speak. "I need to have a warrant write up for a surveillance wire on a suspect in connection to the ongoing John McGarrett case" She told him firmly.

"I see" Akuna responded, his voice coming across as professional and serious. There was the slightest of pauses before he spoke again. "What is the full name of your suspect, starting with the surname please?"

"The Surname is Doran, his first name is Frederick and his middle name is Richard, according to his records he goes by the name of Fred." She answered.

"How is the surname spelt Detective?" Akuna responded. Danni felt a small smile coming to her face as she silently savoured the fact that there was someone on the Police Department who not only seemed to know what they were doing but who also seemed willing to help her without any of the sarcastic comments she was used to hearing when she had made similar requests.

"D-O-R-A-N" She spelt out for him.

The sound of the metal gate to Duncan's house opening caught her attention and she glanced towards it before turning her attention back to her work. The gate opening meant that Grace would be now in the process of hugging her Dad goodbye which meant that Danni had under two minutes to wrap the call up.

"Thank you for that, I'll get these forms filled in straight away for you and have them sent to the correct people for the sign off. I'll call you on this number once the action had been approved. It normally takes two hours. Is there anything else which I can help you with Detective Williams or is that it for today?"

"That's all I need for now but thank you for the help Lieutenant Akuna, I really appreciate it." Danni responded warmly.

"That's no problem, if you need anything else then just call and I'll see what I can do" He stated before he ended the call. Danni ended it on her end, placing the phone and the file back into her bag which she placed on the floor. She took a moment to fluff the pink bunny before undoing her seatbelt and climbing out of the car, one hand automatically smoothing down her skirt as she moved towards the driveway. Her gaze homing in on Grace. The small girl was walking sedately down the driveway by herself though a quick glance behind her showed Duncan standing in the doorway, clearly watching her to make sure she reached Danni without any incident.

The minute Grace's eyes landed on Danni, her calm behaviour went out the window as she burst into a run, a large grin on her face before flying into Danni's waiting arms. She laughed, hugging Grace tightly to her.

"Hey Mamma! I missed you last night, did you miss me?" Grace asked, her voice muffled from where she had her face buried against Danni's neck. Danni twisted round, resting her head against Grace's dark hair and squeezed her before she let go, lifting her hand and acknowledging Duncan's wave before turning her attention back to her daughter. Her eyes searching Grace's face, amazed once again at just how much she loved the small girl in front of her.

"I always miss you when you aren't there Gracie bean, did you have a good time with Daddy?" She asked, resting her hand lightly on Grace's back as she met her daughter's Dark green eyes, eyes directly inherited from her father.

"It was really good mamma, we played hide and seek for ages and then we had a really nice chicken thing for dinner which Daddy cooked and I helped with and then we watched the Princess and the Frog before I went to bed. It was so good"

"It sounds as though it was good baby" Danni agreed, leaning forward and planting a kiss against Grace's forehead before she leaned back enough to notice that as well as having her backpack Grace was holding a cage in her hand which contained a small, chubby white rabbit in it. Danni blinked in confusion at it for a moment before she looked back at Grace. "And who is your new friend Gracie?" She asked her daughter, nodding towards the cage before focusing back on the small girl.

Grace glanced down at it with a look of surprise as though she had forgotten she was holding it and hoisted it up so Danni could have a clearly look at the occupant.

"This is Mr Hoppy Mamma" Grace told her seriously. "Daddy gave him to me yesterday for the animal show and tell. He said I could keep it at our house so I can spend more time with him."

Danni closed her eyes for a moment, mentally kicking herself for forgetting to tell her ex that she didn't want Grace to have a pet until she was older. She should have realised that Duncan would have made sure that Grace had something to bring with her.

"Well that was very nice of your Daddy to do that for you Grace, I'm guessing you named him?" She asked, smiling when Grace nodded at her. "Did you thank him for it?" She pressed, pleased when Grace nodded yet again. "Good because we both know that manners cost nothing. We'll figure out the best place to put him when we get home later on" She promised Grace who grinned at her.

"Thank you Mamma" She stated. Danni nodded, running her hand down Grace's long straight hair.

"I see your Daddy left your hair down again?" She commented, smiling when Grace sighed, throwing her hands in the air in a move which Danni was pretty sure she had taught the girl.

"He tried Mamma but he's just not good at hair so I told him to leave it because you would do it" She said, her suffering tone making Danni's smile widen.

"Well at least he tried" Danni said soothingly, patting Grace's head as she continued to speak. "I'll plait it for you when we get to your school but we need to leave now or we'll be late. Have you got everything you need for your day with you?" She queried as she straightened up from her hunched position.

"Everything Mamma" Grace confirmed with a single nod of her head. "I even had Daddy double-check just to be sure"

"That's my girl" Danni said fondly, glancing once more at the house before turning towards the car. "Let's go then. We can't have Mr Hoppy being late on his first day at school can we? What would Ms Clarke say"

"She wouldn't be pleased Mamma, she hates people being late" Grace replied earnestly as she reached up and swiped some hair off her face, tucking it behind her small ear.

"Well in that case let's make sure we don't give her a reason to be mad at us." Danni said as she reached down and took Grace's free hand in her, leading her towards the car. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell on the pink rabbit. There was no way she could give the rabbit to Grace now.

She thought fast, walking with Grace towards the driver's side before she spoke. "And where exactly do you think you're going Gracie Bean? Are you planning on driving the two of us to your school is that it?" Danni asked teasingly, relishing the large smile which came to her daughter's face and she twirled the small girl round on the spot as though they were dancing. "We both know that you aren't allowed to drive until you're at least ten years old. You're in the passenger seat, this way before you make me dizzier than I'm already am." She moved in front of Grace, blocking the view to the passenger seat, something which she knew she wouldn't be able to do much longer with the rate that Grace was growing. "What's that down there?" She asked, pointing down the road.. Grace automatically looked away towards where Danni was pointing giving Danni enough time to reach through the open window and stuff the rabbit behind the passenger seat where Grace wouldn't be able to see it. "What are you doing looking over there? Come on baby, we're going to be late for school and work" She said, opening the passenger seat with a flourish and closing it behind Grace once she was settled in.

Danni moved round the front of the car, glancing back at the house as the gates began to close before she climbed in, flashing Grace a reassuring smile and making sure her seatbelt was on correctly before she turned the key in the ignition and did a U-turn heading in the directions of Grace's school.

"Mamma" Grace suddenly said breaking the comforting silence between them.

"Yes Grace?" Danni responded glancing towards her with a questioning look on her face.

"Daddy said that he's taking me to the Aquarium on the next weekend when he has me. Do you think you could come as well? I really want you to be there" She pleaded. Danni bit the inside of her mouth, considering her daughter's request. It was an unspoken rule that they would normally leave the other person alone during their weekend with Grace but there had been rare occasions when they would do something together. Danni made a humming sound.

"Let me speak to Daddy first and see what he says okay?" She said, thankful when Grace merely nodded with a smile and let the subject drop. "That reminds me Gracie, do you want to go and visit Uncle Meka, Auntie Amy and Billy over the weekend?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Grace replied enthusiastically. "Do you think we could go to the beach as well with them Mamma because Uncle Meka promised me the last time I saw him that he would help me and Billy build the biggest sandcastle the State of Hawaii has ever seen. He said that we would make it so big that people could see it from space."

Danni laughed at the comment as she nodded.

"Well if that's what Uncle Meka has promised you then we'll make sure that it happens" She replied. "Tonight though I was thinking the two of us could have a girlie evening together? Maybe order in a Pizza as a rare treat. What do you think?" She asked as she turned the car into the road where Grace's school was situated.

"Yes please Mamma" Grace responded happily.

"Okay that's what we'll do then" She remarked with a smile and a nod. "I'll give Auntie Amy a call later to say that we want to go to the beach as well. We can bring your swimming gear with us as well if you want?" She offered.

"Definitely and maybe we could get some shaved ice as well Mamma?" Grace asked hopefully.

"Yeah I don't see why we couldn't" Danni agreed as she brought the car to a stop outside the school in one of the designated drop off bays. She undid her seatbelt and twisted round in her seat, taking the bright pink hair band which Grace was holding out to her. She bit down on her lower lip, quickly plaiting Grace's hair before leaning back and nodded to herself. "Done" She said, leaning back in and kissing Grace's cheek when the small girl turned back to her. "Have a good day at school and listen to everything Ms Clarke tells you. Don't worry about your show and tell either, you and Mr Hoppy will be brilliant in it." Danni told her seriously.

"I will Mamma, I love you" Grace told her equally as seriously.

"I love you too Gracie bean" Danni answered, watching as Grace grabbed her school bag and left the car. She waited until she saw Grace join up with a group of her friends before she hit the indicator and took the road which would take her direction to the Honolulu Police Department Headquarters.

She had a murderer to find.

Author Note

Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it.

I really appreciate it